Mechanical failure of fresh nuclear grade iron–chromium–aluminum (FeCrAl) cladding under simulated hot zero power reactivity initiated accident conditions

Brown, Nicholas; Garrison, Ben; Lowden, Rick R.; Cinbiz, Mahmut N.; Linton, Kory

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152352

Title: Mechanical failure of fresh nuclear grade iron–chromium–aluminum (FeCrAl) cladding under simulated hot zero power reactivity initiated accident conditions

Journal Article · Thu Jul 02 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Journal of Nuclear Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152352· OSTI ID:1649330

^[1]; Garrison, Ben ^[2]; Lowden, Rick R. ^[2];

^[2]; Linton, Kory ^[2]

Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

The reactivity initiated accident (RIA) is a postulated accident in light water reactors initiated by a rapid increase in reactivity which causes an increase in fission rate and fuel temperature. One potential mode of fuel system failure during RIA is pellet cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI) due to the rapid thermal expansion of the fuel pellet. Simulated PCMI experiments were performed by rapidly pressurizing iron-chromium-aluminum (FeCrAl) cladding tube samples using a hydraulic modified burst test system, causing the specimens to burst under a biaxial loading path. Deformation and rupture of the specimens were tracked with a telecentric lens and high-speed camera system. Outer surface strains were calculated using digital image correlation (DIC) on speckle patterns painted on the specimens’ outer surfaces. Experiments were conducted at approximately 275 °C, representative of hot zero power RIA conditions. The failure hoop strain was DIC-calculated between approximately 1.8–3.4%, corresponding to quasi-static energy depositions of approximately 110–260 calories per gram UO₂ assuming initial pellet-cladding contact. These conditions are very similar to the proposed energy deposition limit of 150 calories per gram UO₂ for unirradiated zirconium-based cladding in US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Draft Regulatory Guide 1327. A very small strain rate dependence was observed in the data, with the magnitude of the failure hoop strain decreasing slightly with increasing strain rate. This observed dependence may be relevant because the FeCrAl cladding strain rate will be approximately 20% higher than in zirconium-based cladding due to the harder neutron spectrum and resultant shorter neutron generation time.

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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:: 1649330

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1640241

Journal Information:: Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 539, Issue N/A; ISSN 0022-3115

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 5 works

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References (12)

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