Evaluation of borated aluminum products for criticality control in 235-F
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL)
Plutonium-containing materials are destined for storage in the 235-F vault. The projected amount of stored materials will require the presence of neutron absorber materials. The leading design concept is for the neutron absorber materials to be in non-load-bearing borated aluminum plates lining the walls of the vault. A comprehensive evaluation of the borated aluminum plate materials was performed to identify a suitable material, and verify that these materials would remain effective as neutron absorbers under normal service conditions and for design-basis events, including the fire accident scenario, throughout a 20-year service life. Aluminum 1100 with boron additions is the recommended neutron absorber material for plutonium material storage in the 235-F vault based on boron loading capacity and durability in the storage environment. Borated aluminum 1100 is commercially available up to 4.5 wt. % boron. A detailed comparison was made of the physical, mechanical, and corrosion properties of borated aluminum alloy 1100 to standard alloy 1100-O1 to demonstrate near-equivalency in properties and to justify application of alloy 1100-O properties to the borated product as needed for the degradation analysis. The expected degradation of the borated aluminum is extremely low for storage conditions, including the bounding scenario of an aggressive atmospheric condition. A maximum loss of 0.00029 inches/year would be expected under potentially aggressive atmospheric conditions and would result in a fractional loss of only 0.42 wt. % of the boron present in a 7mm plate for a 20-year storage period. The fraction of Boron-10 consumption by spontaneous neutrons is expected to be less than 10-8 for the 20-year storage in 235-F fully loaded with Pu materials. The borated aluminum alloy 1100 will be thermally stable and unaltered up to near-melt temperature (643°C). Mechanical testing data at elevated temperatures show that the strengths (yield and ultimate) of the borated aluminum alloy 1100 are equal or greater than those of aluminum alloy 1100-O, but with less ductility. A fire accident scenario would not adversely impact the configuration or the neutron-absorbing performance of non-load-bearing plates. No additional surveillances are needed to verify these conclusions. However, if a design-basis fire or other off-normal event occurs during the storage period, it is recommended to verify that the conditions of the event have been covered by those assumed in this report.
- Research Organization:
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-08SR22470
- OSTI ID:
- 1167130
- Report Number(s):
- WSRC-TR-2003-00150
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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