Engineering topics

Sencer, B H

Publications and source records attributed to Sencer, B H.

3 records

DOE OSTI2012

Phase Stability of an HT-9 Duct Irradiated in FFTF

A fuel test assembly known as ACO-3 duct made out of a fully tempered ferritic/martensitic steel (HT-9) was previously irradiated in the Fast Flux Test Reactor Facility (FFTF) up to 155 dpa at a temperature range of 380-504°C. The microstructures of the samples from 5 different zones along the face of the duct were analyzed using a combination of TEM based techniques, SANS and APT. A high density of Cr rich a' precipitates together with moderate density G-phase precipitates with an average sizes of 5 and 11 nm respectively were found at 20 dpa, 380°C zone. It was found that the precipitations of the second phases are more sensitive to temperature then the dose. In general, the density of both precipitates decreases with increasing irradiation temperature. No significant change is observed in average size of a' while the average size of G-phase precipitates increases up to 27 nm at 440°C. Voids are seen at 100 (410°C) and 155 (440°C) dpa zones but none was detected at 96 dpa (466°C) zone. In contrast to what is reported in the literature, no laves or Chi phases were found in any of the zones.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2012

In-Situ Creep Testing Capability for the Advanced Test Reactor

An instrumented creep testing capability is being developed for specimens irradiated in Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) coolant conditions at the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). The test rig has been developed such that samples will be subjected to stresses ranging from 92 to 350 MPa at temperatures between 290 and 370 °C up to at least 2 dpa (displacement per atom). The status of Idaho National Laboratory (INL) efforts to develop the test rig in-situ creep testing capability for the ATR is described. In addition to providing an overview of in-pile creep test capabilities available at other test reactors, this paper reports efforts by INL to evaluate a prototype test rig in an autoclave at INL’s High Temperature Test Laboratory (HTTL). Initial data from autoclave tests with 304 stainless steel (304 SS) specimens are reported.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2012

Interdiffusion and Reaction between Uranium and Iron

Metallic uranium alloy fuels cladded in stainless steel are being examined for fast reactors that operate at high temperature. In this work, solid-to-solid diffusion couples were assembled between pure U and Fe, and annealed at 853K, 888K and 923K where U exists as orthorhombic {alpha}, and at 953K and 973K where U exists as tetragonal {beta}. The microstructures and concentration profiles developed during annealing were examined by scanning electron microscopy and electron probe microanalysis, respectively. U{sub 6}Fe and UFe{sub 2} intermetallics developed in all diffusion couples, and U{sub 6}Fe was observed to grow faster than UFe{sub 2}. The interdiffusion fluxes of U and Fe were calculated to determine the integrated interdiffusion coefficients in U{sub 6}Fe and UFe{sub 2}. The extrinsic (K{sub I}) and intrinsic growth constants (K{sub II}) of U{sub 6}Fe and UFe{sub 2} were also calculated according to Wagner's formalism. The difference between K{sub I} and K{sub II} of UFe{sub 2} indicate that its growth was impeded by the fast-growing U{sub 6}Fe phase. However, the thin UFe{sub 2} played only a small role on the growth of U{sub 6}Fe as its K{sub I} and K{sub II} values were determined to be similar. The allotropic transformation of uranium (orthorhombic {alpha} to tetragonal {beta} phase) was observed to influence the growth of U{sub 6}Fe directly, because the growth rate of U{sub 6}Fe changed based on variation of activation energy. The change in chemical potential and crystal structure of U due to the allotropic transformation affected the interdiffusion between U and U{sub 6}Fe. Faster growth of U{sub 6}Fe is also examined with respect to various factors including crystal structure, phase diagram, and diffusion.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗