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

Journal Article · · Journal of Nuclear Materials
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)

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.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1607116
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1581011
Journal Information:
Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 529, Issue C; ISSN 0022-3115
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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