DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Modern nanostructured ferritic alloys: A compelling and viable choice for sodium fast reactor fuel cladding applications

Abstract

Sodium fast reactor cores present a truly challenging environment for the fuel cladding and core structural materials that limit achievable fuel burnup in these systems. Modern nanostructured ferritic alloys have the potential to deliver the desired high performance characteristics where historic austenitic and ferritic/martensitic alloys fall short. Herein, a new nanostructured ferritic alloy, OFRAC (Oak Ridge Fast Reactor Advanced Fuel Cladding), is developed and demonstrated in cladding geometry with a length > 1 m. The alloy composition and microstructure are tailored to deliver dramatically improved strength and creep resistance. At 600 °C the ultimate tensile strength is ~600 MPa and the stress to induce a steady state strain rate of 10-6 s-1 is 500 MPa vs. 200 MPa for traditional ferritic/martensitic alloys. A very high defect sink density was engineered in these alloys that is expected to further enhance the traditional good swelling and irradiation creep resistance of ferritic/martensitic steels. These significant improvements along with the demonstrated viability for seamless cladding production indicate that this alloy is a compelling and viable choice for sodium fast reactor fuel cladding applications.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [2];  [3]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
  3. Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
OSTI Identifier:
1607116
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1581011
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC05-00OR22725
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Nuclear Materials
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 529; Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 0022-3115
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; Sodium fast reactor; Nanostructured ferritic alloy; OFRAC; Thin wall tubing; Tensile and creep properties

Citation Formats

Hoelzer, David T., Massey, Caleb P., Zinkle, Steven J., Crawford, Doug C., and Terrani, Kurt A. Modern nanostructured ferritic alloys: A compelling and viable choice for sodium fast reactor fuel cladding applications. United States: N. p., 2019. Web. doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.151928.
Hoelzer, David T., Massey, Caleb P., Zinkle, Steven J., Crawford, Doug C., & Terrani, Kurt A. Modern nanostructured ferritic alloys: A compelling and viable choice for sodium fast reactor fuel cladding applications. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.151928
Hoelzer, David T., Massey, Caleb P., Zinkle, Steven J., Crawford, Doug C., and Terrani, Kurt A. Thu . "Modern nanostructured ferritic alloys: A compelling and viable choice for sodium fast reactor fuel cladding applications". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.151928. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1607116.
@article{osti_1607116,
title = {Modern nanostructured ferritic alloys: A compelling and viable choice for sodium fast reactor fuel cladding applications},
author = {Hoelzer, David T. and Massey, Caleb P. and Zinkle, Steven J. and Crawford, Doug C. and Terrani, Kurt A.},
abstractNote = {Sodium fast reactor cores present a truly challenging environment for the fuel cladding and core structural materials that limit achievable fuel burnup in these systems. Modern nanostructured ferritic alloys have the potential to deliver the desired high performance characteristics where historic austenitic and ferritic/martensitic alloys fall short. Herein, a new nanostructured ferritic alloy, OFRAC (Oak Ridge Fast Reactor Advanced Fuel Cladding), is developed and demonstrated in cladding geometry with a length > 1 m. The alloy composition and microstructure are tailored to deliver dramatically improved strength and creep resistance. At 600 °C the ultimate tensile strength is ~600 MPa and the stress to induce a steady state strain rate of 10-6 s-1 is 500 MPa vs. 200 MPa for traditional ferritic/martensitic alloys. A very high defect sink density was engineered in these alloys that is expected to further enhance the traditional good swelling and irradiation creep resistance of ferritic/martensitic steels. These significant improvements along with the demonstrated viability for seamless cladding production indicate that this alloy is a compelling and viable choice for sodium fast reactor fuel cladding applications.},
doi = {10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.151928},
journal = {Journal of Nuclear Materials},
number = C,
volume = 529,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Nov 28 00:00:00 EST 2019},
month = {Thu Nov 28 00:00:00 EST 2019}
}

Journal Article:

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 19 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

Structural materials challenges for advanced reactor systems
journal, March 2009


Sodium fast reactor evaluation: Core materials
journal, July 2009


Structural materials for fission & fusion energy
journal, November 2009


Materials challenges in nuclear energy
journal, February 2013


French and United Kingdom Experience of High-Burnup Mixed-Oxide Fuel in Sodium-Cooled Fast Breeder Reactors
journal, January 2008

  • Martin, Philippe; Pelletier, Michel; Every, Denis
  • Nuclear Technology, Vol. 161, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.13182/NT08-A3911

Structural materials for next generation nuclear systems: Challenges and the path forward
journal, December 2015


Motivation for utilizing new high-performance advanced materials in nuclear energy systems
journal, December 2016

  • Zinkle, S. J.; Terrani, K. A.; Snead, L. L.
  • Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science, Vol. 20, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.cossms.2016.10.004

A Once-Through Fuel Cycle for Fast Reactors
journal, July 2010

  • Weaver, Kevan D.; Gilleland, John; Ahlfeld, Charles
  • Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power, Vol. 132, Issue 10
  • DOI: 10.1115/1.4000898

Ferritic/martensitic steels for next-generation reactors
journal, September 2007


An overview of neutron irradiation effects in LMFBR materials
journal, July 1982


Austenitic stainless steels with improved resistance to radiation-induced swelling
journal, April 1976


Performance of Metallic Fuels and Blankets in Liquid-Metal Fast Breeder Reactors
journal, May 1984

  • Walters, Leon C.; Seidel, B. R.; Kittel, J. Howard
  • Nuclear Technology, Vol. 65, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.13182/NT84-A33408

Fuels for sodium-cooled fast reactors: US perspective
journal, September 2007

  • Crawford, Douglas C.; Porter, Douglas L.; Hayes, Steven L.
  • Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 371, Issue 1-3
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2007.05.010

A US perspective on fast reactor fuel fabrication technology and experience part I: metal fuels and assembly design
journal, June 2009

  • Burkes, Douglas E.; Fielding, Randall S.; Porter, Douglas L.
  • Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 389, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2009.02.035

Metal fuel test program in the FFTF
journal, September 1993


Metallic fuels for advanced reactors
journal, July 2009


Status of LMR fuel development in the United States of America
journal, September 1993


A US perspective on fast reactor fuel fabrication technology and experience. Part II: Ceramic fuels
journal, August 2009

  • Burkes, Douglas E.; Fielding, Randall S.; Porter, Douglas L.
  • Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 393, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2009.04.023

History of fast reactor fuel development
journal, September 1993


Experience with advanced driver fuels in EBR-II
journal, September 1993


A theory of swelling and gas release for reactor materials
journal, February 1964


Development and Performance of Metal Fuel Elements for Fast Breeder Reactors
journal, May 1980


Metallic fast reactor fuels
journal, January 1997


Development of next generation tempered and ODS reduced activation ferritic/martensitic steels for fusion energy applications
journal, June 2017


Comparison of swelling and irradiation creep behavior of fcc-austenitic and bcc-ferritic/martensitic alloys at high neutron exposure
journal, January 2000


Irradiation creep and embrittlement behavior of AISI 316 stainless steel at very high neutron fluences
journal, October 1988


Radiation Damage in Austenitic Steels
book, January 2012


The Deformation and Ageing of Mild Steel: III Discussion of Results
journal, September 1951


On the estimation of sink-absorption terms in reaction-rate-theory analysis of radiation damage
journal, July 1978


Influence of particle dispersions on the high-temperature strength of ferritic alloys
journal, August 2007


Mechanical properties of irradiated ODS-EUROFER and nanocluster strengthened 14YWT
journal, July 2009


Temperature dependence of strengthening mechanisms in the nanostructured ferritic alloy 14YWT: Part I—Mechanical and microstructural observations
journal, January 2013

  • Kim, Jeoung Han; Byun, Thak Sang; Hoelzer, David T.
  • Materials Science and Engineering: A, Vol. 559
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.msea.2012.08.042

Influence of processing on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 14YWT
journal, April 2016


Comparative Effect of Mo and Cr on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties in NbV-Microalloyed Bainitic Steels
journal, February 2018

  • Kostryzhev, Andrii; Singh, Navjeet; Chen, Liang
  • Metals, Vol. 8, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.3390/met8020134

Development of Oxide Dispersion Strengthened Ferritic Steels for FBR Core Application, (I): Improvement of Mechanical Properties by Recrystallization Processing
journal, March 1997

  • Ukai, Shigeharu; Nishida, Toshio; Okada, Hirokazu
  • Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, Vol. 34, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1080/18811248.1997.9733658

Present development status of EUROFER and ODS-EUROFER for application in blanket concepts
journal, November 2005


Microstructural evaluation of a Fe-12Cr nanostructured ferritic alloy designed for impurity sequestration
journal, August 2019


Temperature dependence of strengthening mechanisms in the nanostructured ferritic alloy 14YWT: Part II—Mechanistic models and predictions
journal, January 2013

  • Kim, Jeoung Han; Byun, Thak Sang; Hoelzer, David T.
  • Materials Science and Engineering: A, Vol. 559
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.msea.2012.08.041

Thermal creep modeling of HT9 steel for fast reactor applications
journal, February 2011


Creep deformation and fracture behavior of types 316 and 316L(N) stainless steels and their weld metals
journal, April 2000

  • Sasikala, G.; Mannan, S. L.; Mathew, M. D.
  • Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, Vol. 31, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1007/s11661-000-0113-3

Mechanical Properties, Short Time Creep, and Fatigue of an Austenitic Steel
journal, April 2016

  • Brnic, Josip; Turkalj, Goran; Canadija, Marko
  • Materials, Vol. 9, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.3390/ma9040298

Oxide dispersion-strengthened steels: A comparison of some commercial and experimental alloys
journal, May 2005


Mechanical alloying — A perspective
journal, February 1990


The science and technology of mechanical alloying
journal, May 2001


High temperature fracture characteristics of a nanostructured ferritic alloy (NFA)
journal, December 2010


Transient liquid phase bonding of ferritic oxide-dispersion-strengthened alloys
journal, February 2006

  • Krishnardula, Venu G.; Sofyan, Nofrijon I.; Gale, William F.
  • Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, Vol. 37, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1007/s11661-006-0021-2

Diffusion bonding of 9Cr ODS ferritic/martensitic steel with a phase transformation
journal, October 2014


Pressure resistance welding of MA-957 to HT-9 for advanced reactor applications
journal, September 2018


The microstructure and strength properties of MA957 nanostructured ferritic alloy joints produced by friction stir and electro-spark deposition welding
journal, August 2007


Effects of friction stir welding and post-weld annealing on nanostructured ferritic alloy
journal, April 2011


Joining of 14YWT and F82H by friction stir welding
journal, November 2013


Effect of friction stir welding and post-weld heat treatment on a nanostructured ferritic alloy
journal, February 2016


Economic benefits of advanced materials in nuclear power systems
journal, July 2009