Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Biaxial creep behavior of ribbed GCFR cladding at 650/sup 0/C in nominally pure helium (99. 99%)

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6519135· OSTI ID:6519135
Biaxial creep-rupture tests were conducted on 12 prototypic GCFR fuel-cladding specimens at 650/sup 0/C and a nominal hoop stress of 241.3 MPa. All test specimens were fabricated from 20% cold-worked Type 316 stainless steel tubes that were ribbed on the outer surface by mechanical grinding or electro-chemical etching. Test variables included specimen length and the presence or absence of weld-reinforcing end collars. Test results have indicated that, compared with data on smooth specimens, ribbing has no detrimental effect on creep-rupture lifetime. Specimens fabricated from tubes ribbed by electrochemical etching exhibit a significantly shorter creep-rupture lifetime and a higher secondary (steady-state) creep rate than specimens fabricated from tubes ribbed by mechanical grinding. Specimen length does not strongly affect creep-rupture lifetime, but the presence of an end collar does exhibit a significant influence on both the axial strain profile and the ratio of maximum diametral strain at the failure site to average diametral strain away from the failure site. The ribs do not inhibit the propagation of fissure or rupture failures.
Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
W-31109-ENG-38
OSTI ID:
6519135
Report Number(s):
ANL-76-73
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English