In-situ tube burst testing and high-temperature deformation behavior of candidate materials for accident tolerant fuel cladding

Journal Article · Tue Aug 25 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Journal of Nuclear Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2015.08.030· OSTI ID:1263864

Byun, Thak Sang ^[1]; Yamamoto, Yukinori ^[2]; Maloy, Stuart A. ^[3]; Gussev, M. N. ^[2]; Terrani, K. A. ^[2]

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1. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
3. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Here, one of the most essential properties of accident tolerant fuel (ATF) for maintaining structural integrity during a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) is high resistance of the cladding to plastic deformation and burst failure, since the deformation and burst behavior governs the cooling efficiency of flow channels and the process of fission product release. To simulate and evaluate the deformation and burst process of thin-walled cladding, an in-situ testing and evaluation method has been developed on the basis of visual imaging and image analysis techniques. The method uses a specialized optics system consisting of a high-resolution video camera, a light filtering unit, and monochromatic light sources. The in-situ testing is performed using a 50 mm long pressurized thin-walled tubular specimen set in a programmable furnace. As the first application, ten (10) candidate cladding materials for ATF, i.e., five FeCrAl alloys and five nanostructured steels, were tested using the newly developed method, and the time-dependent images were analyzed to produce detailed deformation and burst data such as true hoop stress, strain (creep) rate, and failure stress. Relatively soft FeCrAl alloys deformed and burst below 800 °C, while negligible strain rates were measured for higher strength alloys.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725; FT-14OR020228
• OSTI ID: 1263864
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1252260
• Journal Information: Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 466, Issue C; ISSN 0022-3115
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
accident tolerant fuel (ATF)
ATF cladding materials
in-situ tube burst testing
non-contact optic measurement
high temperature deformation