Elastic anisotropy of zirconium alloy fuel cladding

Some methods to determine the anisotropic elasticity coefficients of zirconium alloy fuel cladding are discussed together with the conventional elastic constants.A simplified method, which uses the f parameters, was proposed, and the validity and applicability of the method were also investigated. The integration method, which was originally proposed by Rosenbaum et al., was found to be in excellent agreement with the experimental values of our own twisting test from room temperature to 800°C. The proposed f parameter method was also found to agree well with the values obtained by the integration method or experiment, especially at high temperatures near 700°C. It became evident that the elastic property of the typical fuel cladding was roughly isotropic at room temperature, and that the elastic anisotropy monotonically increased with temperature. Some stress or strain distributions of the fuel cladding were also obtained using anisotropic elasticity constants. The stress induced in the fuel cladding with simulated ridge deformation was very little affected by the difference in texture, but was more influenced by the elastic constants employed.     

耐事故燃料用Cr涂层锆合金包壳研究进展

2011年日本福岛核事故后,燃料包壳表面涂层技术成为耐事故燃料研发的主要方向之一。国内外对此开展了大量的研究工作。经过10年多的技术探索,Cr涂层包壳从众多涂层方案中脱颖而出,已成为涂层包壳研发主要技术路线。目前国际上Cr涂层包壳技术已完成了制备工艺、性能评价及设计准则等研究工作,进入了由技术研发到工程应用的重要转型阶段。梳理国外的研发经验可为我国的Cr涂层研究提供参考。法国和美国在Cr涂层包壳研发中开展了大量的堆内外试验,在工程应用上取得了实质性的突破。因此,本文系统梳理了到目前为止法国和美国在Cr涂层研发方面主要研究内容、研究方法及其未来规划。     

The elastic properties of zirconium alloy fuel cladding and pressure tubing materials

A knowledge of the elastic properties of zirconium alloys is required in the mathematical modelling of cladding and pressure tubing performance. Until recently, little of this type of data was available, particularly at elevated temperatures. The dynamic elastic moduli of zircaloy-2, zircaloy-4, the alloys Zr-1.0 wt% Nb, Zr-2.5 wt% Nb and Marz grade zirconium have therefore been determined over the temperature range 275 to 1000 K. Young's modulus and shear modulus for all the zirconium alloys decrease with temperature and are expressed by empirical relations fitted to the data. The elastic properties are texture dependent and a detailed study has been conducted on the effect of texture on the elastic properties of Zr-1.0 wt% Nb over the temperature range 275 to 775 K. The results are compared with polycrystalline elastic constants computed from single crystal elastic constants, and the effect of texture on the dynamic elastic moduli is discussed in detail.     

Gas-cooled fast breeder reactor designs with advanced fuel and cladding

This paper examines the potential impact of some alternative cladding and fuel materials being considered for the liquid metal fast breeder reactor (LMFBR) on the performance and design of large commercial gas-cooled fast breeder reactors (GCFRs). Mixed carbide fuel and Inconel 718 cladding material were examined. Another cladding alternative considered was silicon carbide (SiC), which presents some interesting possibilities in high-temperature performance. Design concepts based on the above fuel and claddings were examined and compared with a reference oxide/316 stainless steel design based on a commercial 4000 MW(th) [1500 MW(e)] system. Substantial benefits can be derived from a high-temperature cladding material such as Inconel 718 or ¹⁶Pe; core volume and steam generator heat transfer area could be reduced by 20% or more, and significant reductions in core inventory and doubling time are possible. Carbide fuels would reduce the number of fuel rods by 50% because of higher linear power, and doubling time would be lowered.     

高燃耗下快堆燃料与包壳的化学相互作用模型建立及验证

快中子反应堆二氧化铀燃料元件在高燃耗、高中子注量率、高线功率和高温状况下运行,燃料与包壳材料会发生复杂的物理化学相互作用。燃料元件化学相互作用模型的建立对高燃耗快堆燃料元件的设计非常重要。针对快中子反应堆氧化物燃料元件与包壳材料发生的化学相互作用,采用动力学模型建立了二氧化铀与奥氏体不锈钢、铁素体-马氏体钢包壳材料的化学相互作用模型,并通过实验数据验证该模型。结果表明：建立的快堆二氧化铀燃料与奥氏体不锈钢的腐蚀模型可以成功预测最大燃耗10.8at%、辐照损伤87.5 dpa的包壳腐蚀;建立的快堆二氧化铀燃料与铁马钢的腐蚀模型可以成功预测最大燃耗9.3at%、辐照损伤76.6 dpa的包壳腐蚀。研究结果为高燃耗二氧化铀辐照元件及示范快堆燃料元件的设计和性能预测提供重要的参考价值。     

Physicochemical interaction of oxide fuel with the cladding of the fuel elements of A fast reactor

Conclusions The investigations of fuel elements with mixed oxide fuel, used in BOR-60, revealed four types of corrosion damage to OKh16N15M3B steel cladding due to the action of fission products. It was shown that the general corrosion develops as a result of the interaction of the cladding with cesium with an oxygen potential created by the mixed oxide fuel. Precipitation of carbides, formed as a result of radiation-thermal aging of the steel, on grain boundaries leads to intercrystallite corrosion of the cladding in the presence of cesium. When mixed oxide fuel with the starting ratio O/M=1.98–2.00 is used in the fuel elements, iodide transport of the components of the steel, giving rise to intercrystallite corrosion of the cladding, occurs. It was demonstrated that chemical activity relative to the stainless steel, leading to corrosion damage to the cladding, is high.Translated from Atomnaya Énergiya, Vol. 56, No. 4, pp. 195–199, April, 1984.     

Axial strains in fuel cladding associated with creep and fast neutron irradiation

Commercially produced CANDU-PHWR (CANada Deuterium Uranium-Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor) Zircaloy-4 and Zr—2.5% Nb fuel cladding was biaxially creep-tested in the laboratory and in the WR-1 reactor. The axial strains measured have been interpreted, through a knowledge of the texture, to provide evidence supporting prismatic slip as the major process for axial contraction at high stresses and temperatures and that this is the same process which gives rise to axial lengthening of pressure tubes. At low stresses and temperatures, axial lengthening of fuel cladding appears to be associated with Coble creep in elongated and flattened grains.     

Stress biaxiality in high-burnup PWR fuel cladding under reactivity-initiated accident conditions

In order to promote a better understanding of failure mechanisms of high-burnup pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuels under reactivity-initiated accident (RIA) conditions, stress biaxiality in cladding has been estimated for the pellet-cladding (PC) mechanical interaction (PCMI) phase. The estimation was based on an analysis of the transient elongations of a pellet stack and a cladding tube measured in RIA-simulating experiments in the nuclear safety research reactor (NSRR) using the RANNS code. Stress biaxiality in the high-burnup PWR fuel cladding during the PCMI phase has been estimated to be 0.7–0.8, on average, at the mid-wall of the cladding. A comparison with fresh fuel test results and a sensitivity analysis showed that the effects of burnup and pulse width on cladding stress biaxiality are less than 10% for the investigated range. The present analysis also indicated that PC friction is strong, and that the cladding constraint on pellet stack elongation is significant irrespective of burnup. Therefore, it is recommended that strong PC friction be assumed, which is similar to the mechanical bonding condition, and that fuel pellets be treated as deformable materials in models of fuel behavior during the PCMI phase.     

Theoretical analysis of stress, strain and fracture for fast reactor fuel cladding under constant power and power-cycling conditions: Visco-elastic model of nuclear fuel pin behaviour

The strain distributions produced in collapsed cladding by the expansion of cracked pellets during a power increase have been calculated analytically to establish the effect of a soft metal interlayer. As the radial cracks in the pellet open, the tendency for the cladding to stretch preferentially over them is reduced by frictional sliding at the pellet/clad interface. The frictional forces opposing sliding are reduced by the interlayer, whilst the ability of the cladding to resist the friction forces without being locally deformed depends on its work-hardening coefficient. The efficacy of the interlayer is greatest for interlayers which require the least strain to bed them in.     

Fracture limit of high-burnup advanced fuel cladding tubes under loss-of-coolant accident conditions

ABSTRACT

To evaluate the fracture limit of high-burnup advanced fuel cladding tubes under loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) conditions, laboratory-scale integral thermal shock tests were performed using the following advanced fuel cladding tubes with burnups of 73–85 GWd/t: M-MDA^TM, low-tin ZIRLO^TM, M5®, and Zircaloy-2 (LK3). In total eight integral thermal shock tests were performed for these fuel cladding tube specimens, simulating LOCA conditions including ballooning and rupture, oxidation, hydriding, and quenching. During the tests, the specimens were oxidized to 10%–30% equivalent cladding reacted (ECR) at approximately 1473 K and were quenched under axial restraint load of approximately 520–530 N. The effects of burnup extension and use of the advanced fuel cladding tubes on the ballooning and rupture, oxidation, and hydriding under LOCA conditions were inconsiderable. Further, the high-burnup advanced fuel cladding tube specimens did not fracture in the ECR values equal to or lower than the fracture limits of the unirradiated Zircaloy-4 cladding tube reported in previous studies. Therefore, it can be concluded that the fracture limit of fuel cladding tubes is not significantly reduced by extending the burnup to approximately 85 GWd/t and using the advanced fuel cladding tubes, though it slightly decreases with increasing initial hydrogen concentration.     

A creep rupture criterion for Zircaloy-4 fuel cladding under internal pressure

The usual criterion which limits the cladding strain to 0.01 to prevent the creep rupture under internal pressure seems too conservative for application to transport and interim storage. So we have analysed CEA’s data on this subject for CWSR Zircaloy-4 in order to find a less conservative criterion. Temperatures between 350 and 470 °C were studied for stresses between 100 and 550 MPa, according to the irradiation level from 0 to 9.5 × 10²⁵ n m⁻². Except for high stressed irradiated material (because of low ductility), the plastic instability appears as the major mechanism of rupture. For the unirradiated material, it is essentially due to the stress increase with strain. This instability is accelerated by annealing for the irradiated one at moderate or low stress. From these considerations, we propose a new rupture criterion for CWSR Zircaloy-4 cladding submitted to internal pressure, for both unirradiated and irradiated materials.     

Properties of zirconium base cladding materials-corrosion and hydrogen pickup

This paper describes first corrosion and hydrogen pickup by zircaloy in water and steam. Out-of-pile corrosion is: treated briefly, as irradiation has major effects on the process. Main emphasis is on hydrogen pickup in-pile, as experience with the Shippingport Atomic Power Station core has led to the conclusion that susceptibility to hydriding is the major factor in determining the ultimate limits on the useful life of zirconiumbase cladding, rather than loss of wall thickness. The principal alloys used or considered are discussed.     

Irradiation performance of fast reactor MOX fuel pins with ferritic/martensitic cladding irradiated to high burnups

The ACO-3 irradiation test, which attained extremely high burnups of about 232 GWd/t and resisted a high neutron fluence (E > 0.1 MeV) of about 39 × 10²⁶ n/m² as one of the lead tests of the Core Demonstration Experiment in the Fast Flux Test Facility, demonstrated that the fuel pin cladding made of ferritic/martensitic HT-9 alloy had superior void swelling resistance. The measured diameter profiles of the irradiated ACO-3 fuel pins showed axially extensive incremental strain in the MOX fuel column region and localized incremental strain near the interfaces between the MOX fuel and upper blanket columns. These incremental strains were as low as 1.5% despite the extremely high level of the fast neutron fluence. Evaluation of the pin diametral strain indicated that the incremental strain in the MOX fuel column region was substantially due to cladding void swelling and irradiation creep caused by internal fission gas pressure, while the localized strain near the MOX fuel/upper blanket interface was likely the result of the pellet/cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI) caused by cesium/fuel reactions. The evaluation also suggested that the PCMI was effectively mitigated by a large gap size between the cladding and blanket column.     

Diametral strain of fast reactor MOX fuel pins with austenitic stainless steel cladding irradiated to high burnup

The C3M irradiation test, which was conducted in the experimental fast reactor, “Joyo”, demonstrated that mixed oxide (MOX) fuel pins with austenitic steel cladding could attain a peak pellet burnup of about 130 GWd/t safely. The test fuel assembly consisted of 61 fuel pins, whose design specifications were similar to those of driver fuel pins of a prototype fast breeder reactor, “Monju”. The irradiated fuel pins exhibited diametral strain due to cladding void swelling and irradiation creep. The cladding irradiation creep strain were due to the pellet-cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI) as well as the internal gas pressure. From the fuel pin ceramographs and ¹³⁷Cs gamma scanning, it was found that the PCMI was associated with the pellet swelling which was enhanced by the rim structure formation or by cesium uranate formation. The PCMI due to cesium uranate, which occurred near the top of the MOX fuel column, significantly affected cladding hoop stress and thermal creep, and the latter effect tended to increase the cumulative damage fraction (CDF) of the cladding though the CDF indicated that the cladding still had some margin to failure due to the creep damage.     

Anisotropic growth of reactor fuel pin cladding

Anisotropic growth of 316 stainless steel reactor fuel pin cladding was found to occur after irradiation in the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II). Pressurized tube specimens were irradiated to a peak fluence of 10²³n/cm² (E >0.1 MeV) at temperature ranging from 430°C to approximately 590°C. Growth was observed in both the annealed and 20% cold worked conditions and was found to decrease with increasing hoop stress. The anisotropic growth is more pronounced in the cold worked condition. The growth is attributed to a preferred orientation of Burgers vectors in the preirradiated cold worked dislocation structure.     

Deformation behavior of recrystallized and stress-relieved Zircaloy-4 fuel cladding under biaxial stress conditions

Pellet–cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI) under reactivity-initiated accident conditions may lead to the failure of high-burnup fuel rods. Biaxial stress states generated by PCMI in Zircaloy cladding may make the cladding more susceptible to failure. In this study, we investigated the deformation behavior of Zircaloy cladding under biaxial stress conditions based on the concept of contours of equal plastic work. The major axis angles of the initial work contours of recrystallized (RX) and stress-relieved (SR) specimens were investigated and it was found that the shapes of the initial work contours of these kinds of specimens were almost symmetric across the direction where the ratio of axial stress to circumferential stress is 1. The shapes of subsequent work contours tended to change for the RX specimen while being the same as the initial for the SR specimen, as deformation proceeded. It was suggested that the textures and slip systems in the RX and SR specimens affect their initial work contours while the slip system in the RX specimens and the residual strain in the SR specimens influence the subsequent work contours.     

锆合金包壳二次氢化破损模拟方法研究

压水堆燃料锆包壳管一旦出现破口,流入包壳内的水会在内外壁压差的作用下闪蒸为水蒸汽,在包壳管内壁引发锆水反应,使包壳管内壁由于大量吸氢而产生破损,称为二次氢脆。为了模拟压水堆一回路运行工况与锆包壳管的二次氢脆发生过程,通过理论强度计算与热工验证,自主设计锆合金包壳管二次氢脆实验堆外模拟装置,并针对ZIRLO合金包壳管开展双热源模拟实验。该装置实现了在一回路工况水平下的长期稳定运行,模拟结果显示ZIRLO合金管内外壁氧化并生成沿轴向自下而上浓度增加的氢化物。表明该装置解决了窄缝空间热分层现象带来的影响,可模拟包壳管二次氢脆过程中的一次破口失水、冷却水闪蒸及间隙蒸汽腐蚀行为,验证了该装置技术手段可行性。     

Separate-effect tests on zirconium cladding degradation in air ingress situations

In the event of air ingress during a reactor or spent fuel pond low probability accident, the fuel rods will be exposed to air-containing atmospheres at high temperatures. In comparison with steam, the presence of air is expected to result in a more rapid escalation of the accident.A state-of-the-art review performed before SARNET started showed that the existing data on zirconium alloy oxidation in air were scarce. Moreover, the exact role of zirconium nitride on the cladding degradation process was poorly understood. Regarding the cladding behaviour in air + steam or nitrogen-enriched atmospheres (encountered in oxygen-starved conditions), almost no data were available.New experimental programmes comprising small-scale tests have therefore been launched at FZK, IRSN (MOZART programme in the frame of the International Source Term Program—ISTP) and INR. Zircaloy-4 cladding in PWR (FZK, IRSN) and in CANDU (INR) geometry are investigated. On-line kinetic data are obtained on centimetre size tube segments, by thermogravimetry (FZK, IRSN and INR) or by mass spectrometry (FZK). Plugged tubes 15 cm long (FZK) are also investigated. The samples are air-oxidised either in the “as-received” state, or after pre-oxidation in steam. “Analytical” tests at constant temperature and gas composition provide basic kinetic data, while more prototypical temperature transients and sequential gas compositions are also investigated. The temperature domains extend from 600 °C up to 1500 °C. Systematic post-test metallographic inspections are performed.The paper gives a synthesis of the results obtained, comparing them in terms of kinetics and oxide scale structure and composition. A comparative analysis is performed with results of the QUENCH-10 (Q-10) bundle test, which included an air ingress phase. It is shown how the data contribute to a better understanding of the cladding degradation process, especially regarding the role of nitrogen. For modelling of the oxide scale degradation under air exposure, important features that have to be taken into account are highlighted.