Residual stress and strain examination in Peach Bottom fuel test elements

Conference · Fri May 20 00:00:00 EDT 1977

OSTI ID:7317955

Wallroth, C F; Miller, C M; Saurwein, J J

An examination of residual stresses and strains has been carried out experimentally on structural graphite components removed from Peach Bottom High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR) fuel elements. The purpose of this work is to confirm predicted stress distributions. Twenty-nine teledial fuel elements (of six- and eight-hole design) were irradiated in the Peach Bottom HTGR to fluences of less than or equal to 4 x 10/sup 25/ n/m/sup 2/ (E greater than 29 fJ) and time-average temperatures up to 1100/sup 0/C. The irradiation history was modeled with HTGR design codes. Performance predictions were verified by in-pile thermocouples and fuel burnup measurements. The predicted irradiation-induced strains were found to be in quantitative agreement with postirradiation measurements (less than or equal to 0.5 percent shrinkage over a 70-mm diameter). As a result of the temperature distribution in the teledial bodies, compressive stresses were predicted at the periphery and tensile stresses in the inner zones. A total of 19 graphite bodies from 8 different fuel elements were examined destructively for structural integrity and residual stresses.

• Research Organization: General Atomic Co., San Diego, CA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: EY-76-C-03-0167-017
• OSTI ID: 7317955
• Report Number(s): GA-A-14324; CONF-770807-22; TRN: 77-015731
• Resource Relation: Conference: 4. international conference on structural mechanics in reactor technology, San Francisco, CA, USA, 15 Aug 1977
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
FUEL ELEMENTS
STRESS ANALYSIS
HTGR TYPE REACTORS
BURNUP
DESTRUCTIVE TESTING
GRAPHITE
PEACH BOTTOM-1 REACTOR
PHYSICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
CARBON
ELEMENTS
ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
GAS COOLED REACTORS
GRAPHITE MODERATED REACTORS
HELIUM COOLED REACTORS
MATERIALS TESTING
NONMETALS
POWER REACTORS
RADIATION EFFECTS
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTORS
TESTING
THERMAL REACTORS
210300* - Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Graphite Moderated