Crack initiation and propagation in braided SiC/SiC composite tubes: Effect of braiding angle

Crack initiation and propagation in three braided SiC/SiC composite tubes with different braiding angles are investigated by in situ tensile tests with synchrotron micro-computed tomography. Crack networks are precisely detected after an image subtraction procedure based on Digital Volume Correlation. FFT based simulations are performed on the full-resolution 3D images to assess elastic stress/strain fields. Quantitative measurements of the crack geometries are performed using a novel method based on grey levels. The results show that braiding angle has no obvious effect on the location of crack onsets (initiation always occurs at tow interfaces), whereas it significantly affects the paths of crack propagation. This work provides an explicit demonstration of the crack propagation scenarios with respect to the mesoscopic fibre architectures.     

SPD技术对锆及锆合金力学行为影响研究现状

综述了锆及锆合金剧烈塑性变形(SPD)后性能变化的研究进展,系统阐述了锆及锆合金经剧烈塑性变形后显微硬度、拉伸/压缩性能、高低周疲劳性能,重点介绍了SPD技术在纯锆、Zr-Nb系合金中的应用。经过剧烈塑性变形后,锆及锆合金的抗拉强度及屈服强度均显著提升,但依据剧烈塑性成形轨迹、合金成分、第二相分布、热处理制度不同,其提升程度存在一定的差别。位错滑移是锆及锆合金高周疲劳的主要损伤机制,位错运动(包括位错滑移及位错攀移)是锆及锆合金低周疲劳的主要损伤机制。文章最后指出现阶段锆及锆合金SPD技术的发展趋势及应用前景。     

固溶处理对含Gd不锈钢第二相与硬度的影响

研究了不同固溶处理温度对含Gd不锈钢第二相与硬度的影响。结果表明,含Gd不锈钢在1000～1150℃固溶处理30 min后,沿晶界析出的连续第二相只发生部分熔断,大量第二相弥散分布于基体中,由“灰色”相包裹着“亮白色”相,“灰色”相元素组成及含量相对稳定。在1000～1070℃保温30 min固溶处理后,“亮白色”相的Ni几乎完全溶解,Gd浓缩富集,尺寸缩小,“灰色”相长大缓慢,部分“灰色”相形貌变为短棒状。固溶温度升高至1150℃,“亮白色”相中Ni溶解的同时Gd发生扩散及微量溶解,大部分“亮白色”相消失,“灰色”相发生粗化、球化。固溶处理后合金硬度均低于固溶处理前,随着固溶温度的升高,合金硬度呈上升趋势。     

Corrosion of New Zirconium Claddings in 500 °C/10.3 MPa Steam: Effects of Alloying and Metallography

With the aim of improving corrosion resistance of rod cladding for in-service and accident conditions, six new zirconium alloys (named N1-N6) have been designed. The contents of Sn and Nb were optimized for better behavior at high-temperature pressurized water, and Fe, Cr, V, Cu or Mo elements were added to the alloys to adjust the corrosion behavior. The current work focused on the rapid corrosion behavior in 500 °C/10.3 MPa steam for up to 1960 h, aiming to test the corrosion resistance at high temperature. The structure of matrix and properties of second-phase particles (SPPs) were characterized to find the main differences among these alloys. All the six alloys exhibited better corrosion resistance than N36, and N1 was shown to have the best performance. A careful analysis of the corrosion kinetics curves revealed that Cr was beneficial for severe condition. Elements Fe, Cr, V, Cu or Mo aggregated into SPPs with different concentrations and structures. This was demonstrated to be the main reason for different corrosion resistance. Due to good processing control, all alloys had a uniform structure and a uniform distribution of SPPs. As for N4, N6 and N36, the existing of large-size SPPs (450 nm) might be a contributing factor of the relatively poor corrosion resistance.     

电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定核级海绵锆中痕量硼

硼的存在会严重影响核级海绵锆的中子平衡和反应堆的正常运转,因此,需要准确测定核级海绵锆中痕量硼。在采用电感耦合等离子体质谱法(ICP-MS)测定核级海绵锆中痕量硼时,锆基体干扰比较严重,必须对其进行校正或消除。实验用硝酸和氢氟酸溶解样品,以¹¹B为测定同位素,采用标准加入法克服基体干扰,建立了ICP-MS测定核级海绵锆中痕量硼的方法。结果表明,在优化的实验条件下,硼质量浓度在0.50~10.00 μg/L范围内与其对应的信号强度呈线性关系,相关系数为0.999 5,方法检出限为0.038 μg/g,定量限为0.125 μg/g。按照实验方法测定6个核级海绵锆样品中硼,结果的相对标准偏差(RSD)为2.3%,加标回收率为102%;采用分光光度法进行方法对照试验,两种方法测定结果基本一致。     

Meso-scale analysis of the creep behavior of hydrogenated Zircaloy-4

During dry storage, creep is the most likely degradation mechanism for spent Zircaloy fuel cladding. The fuel cladding integrity during dry storage depends on the amount of oxidation, irradiation hardening and hydrogen-uptake during in-reactor operation. In this paper, the effect of hydrogen on the creep behavior of Zircaloy-4 cladding material was investigated at different temperatures. Depending on temperature, hydrogen can be found in the sample in solid solution and/or hydride. To capture this phenomenon, a numerical mesoscale model of the hydrogenated material has been built using the Finite Element (FE) Method. The numerical setup explicitly describes the hydrides as an inclusion in a hydrogenated Zircaloy-4 matrix. The matrix creep behavior follows a combined Norton-Bailey and Norton creep rules whereas the hydrides are considered to be elastic material. The creep law was defined in FE Code ABAQUS using the user subroutine CREEP. The comparison of predicted creep behavior obtained from numerical modeling showed good agreement with the results reported in literature. The predicted creep behavior shows a significant effect of hydrides morphology. Particularly, our model is able to seize the competition between the creep strain rate enhancement induced by hydrogen in solid solution and its reduction due to precipitated hydrogen.     

基于Ti1100合金的微量元素添加对合金抗氧化性能的影响

本文利用固溶体合金中的‘团簇加连接原子’模型解析了典型高温近α-Ti合金Ti1100的成分,其团簇成分式为[Al-(Ti13.7Zr0.3)](Al0.69Sn0.18Mo0.03Si0.12)。在此基础上,采用相似元素替代原则设计了微量元素Hf、Ta和Nb添加的系列合金成分,即 [Al-(Ti13.7Zr0.15Hf0.15)](Al0.69Sn0.18Si0.1(Mo/Ta/Nb)0.03)。对该系列合金进行950 ℃/1 h固溶+560 ℃/6 h时效处理,然后进行组织结构、硬度、抗高温氧化及电化学腐蚀性能测试。研究结果表明,Zr0.15Hf0.15合金与参比合金具有相同片层β转变组织,而在此基础上Ta和Nb的添加会使合金中产生大量等轴α组织;但组织的改变对系列合金的显微硬度影响不大,介于330-370 HV。650 ℃氧化100 h后系列合金均具有较强的抗氧化能力,氧化增重小于1.0 mg/cm2,而在800 ℃氧化100 h后,添加Hf、Ta、Nb元素的合金氧化增重明显低于Ti1100合金,氧化层厚度为25~27 μm,且氧化层致密,其中[Al-(Ti13.7Zr0.15Hf0.15)](Al0.69Sn0.18Si0.1Ta0.015Nb0.015)合金具有最优的抗高温氧化性能,800 ℃/100 h后的氧化增重仅为2.6 mg/cm2。此外,该系列合金在在3.5 %NaCl溶液中也具有较好的耐蚀性。     

Increase the current density and reduce the defects of ZnO by modification of the band gap edges with Cu ions implantation for efficient,flexible dye-sensitized solar cells (FDSSCs)

Flexible dye-sensitized solar cells (FDSSCs) have good potential in future photovoltaic technology. The spin coating method deposited the ZnO films on indium-tin-oxide-coated polyethylene terephthalate (ITO-PET) flexible plastic substrates. These films are implanted with Cu-ions with 1 × 10¹³ ions/cm², 1 × 10¹⁴ ions/cm², and 1 × 10¹⁵ ions/cm². All the films have a hexagonal structure. The film irradiated with 1 × 10¹⁴ ions/cm² showed high crystallinity and crystallite size. Important optical properties like bandgap energy (E_g), band edges, refractive index, extinction coefficient, and dielectric constants are measured by UV–Vis spectroscopy. Bandgap energy decreases, and the refractive index increases at the fluence of Cu ions. The maximum decrease in E_g is observed at the 1 × 10¹⁴ ions/cm² dose. Photoluminescence spectra suggest that defects-related emission peaks are decreased at 1 × 10¹⁴ ions/cm² Cu ions fluency. J-V measurements have significantly improved photovoltaic performance compared to pristine ZnO-based solar cells. The highest efficiency (2.30%) is observed at a 1 × 10¹⁴ ions/cm² dose. The efficiency increase is related to improving the charge transfer ratio and shifting the fermi level toward the conduction band.     

Embrittlement of a FeCrAlMo alloy exposed to high temperature

A metallurgical evaluation of a FeCrAlMo alloy was carried out after observing low temperature fracture in several purge lines made of this material. The unexpected material embrittlement was attributed to high temperature phase transformations occurred during a previous exposure of the components at 800 °C. The microstructural analysis showed extensive Mo-rich precipitates and Cr-rich carbides at grain boundaries associated with the failed components. The study also showed by means of compression tests carried out at room temperature evident loss of ductility in the samples exposed at high temperatures as a consequence of the material aging.     

High temperature oxidation characteristics of Nb–10W–XCr alloys

The effect of Cr content on the microstructure and cyclic oxidation behavior of Nb–10W–XCr alloys with four different compositions has been investigated. Experiments were conducted in air at 900 °C and 1300 °C; the oxidation kinetics have been evaluated in terms of weight change per unit area with respect to exposure time. Alloy's microstructure consists of Nb solid solution phase regions surrounded by a network of NbCr₂ Laves phase. A trend of improvement in oxidation resistance with increase of the intermetallic phase is observed at 1300 °C and oxidation kinetics follow a parabolic behavior. At 900 °C, alloys with higher Cr content exhibit higher oxidation rates than alloys with lower Cr content. The oxidation products are a mixture of CrNbO₄, and Nb₂O₅ and the amount of each oxide present in the mixture is related to the intermetallic phase content. Results delineate the influence of microstructure and composition on the oxidation mechanisms of these alloys that represent a promising base for high-temperature intermetallic alloy development.