Stress rupture of SiC/SiC composite tubes under high-temperature steam

SiC-fiber–reinforced SiC matrix composite cladding for light water reactor fuel elements must withstand high-temperature steam oxidation in a loss-of-coolant accident scenario (LOCA). Current composite designs include an outer monolithic SiC layer, in part, to increase steam oxidation resistance. However, it is not clear how such a structure would behave under high-temperature steam in the case when the monolithic layer cracks and carbon interphases and SiC fibers are exposed to the environment. To fill this knowledge gap, stress-rupture tests of prototypic SiC composite cladding at 1000°C under steam and inert environments were conducted. The applied stress was ∼120 MPa, which was beyond the initial cracking stress. The failure lifetime under steam was 400–1300 s, while 75% of the composite specimens did not fail after 3 h of total exposure under inert gases. Microstructural observations suggest that steam oxidation activated slow crack growth in the fibers, which led to failure of the composite. The results from this study suggest that stress rupture in steam environments could be a limiting factor of the cladding under reactor LOCA conditions.     

Degradation Profiles of Potato Starch Melts Through a Capillary Tube Viscometer

The effects of time‐temperature and strain history on potato starch melts at 150 °C were investigated by use of a capillary tube viscometer. Reciprocating and single extrusions were performed in this study. Shear stress at single extrusion decreased gently as initial heating time increased, while shear stress at reciprocating extrusion decreased rapidly as the number of extrusion strokes increased. A high degree of cold water solubility was obtained by reciprocal extrusion at lower moisture content. From the results of gel filtration it could be concluded that starch molecules were depolymerized by high and reciprocal shear stress. According to these results time‐temperature history was more effective on the depolymerization of starch molecules and degradation of starch granules at higher moisture content, while strain history was more effective at lower moisture content.