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Compatibility testing of the WESF /sup 90/SrF/sub 2/ storage capsule at 800/sup 0/C

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5211502· OSTI ID:5211502
A program is currently under way at Pacific Northwest Laboratory to develop the information needed to permit the licensing of /sup 90/SrF/sub 2/ as a radioisotope heat-source fuel for terrestrial application. A major portion of the effort is directed at determining the compatibility of /sup 90/SrF/sub 2/ with containment materials at anticipated heat-source operating temperatures. One phase of the compatibility studies involved the testing of two WESF /sup 90/SrF/sub 2/ storage capsules at approximately 800/sup 0/C. The first capsule was tested for 5000 h and the second for 26,200 h. The capsules were placed in individual insulated containers and allowed to self-heat to the test temperature. The tests were conducted in a hot cell at WESF. Heat losses from the insulated containers were uneven, and as a result a temperature gradient existed between the center and ends of each capsule. In the 5000-h test the metal//sup 90/SrF/sub 2/ interface temperature varied from about 730 to 821/sup 0/C; in the 26,200-h test the temperature varied from about 750 to 831/sup 0/C. Metallographic examination of sections of metal taken from the Hastelloy C-276 capsules showed that chemical attack of the metal was not significantly greater in the 26,200-h test than in the 5000-h test. Similar results have been observed in other compatibility tests involving Hastelloy C-276 and /sup 90/SrF/sub 2/. The data indicate that chemical attack of the Hastelloy C-276 is due to impurities in the strontium fluoride, and that once the impurities are consumed the rate of attack drops to a very low level.
Research Organization:
Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs., Richland, WA (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC06-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
5211502
Report Number(s):
PNL-3433
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English