Preliminary Analysis of Reactivity Initiated Accident Separate Effects Mechanical Tests on Chromium-Coated Zirconium Cladding
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Espersen, Jennifer↗
SEARCH · Search NASA
Results for “Mechanical testing”
Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Development of Additively Manufactured Conical Shaped Charge liner Hydrocode Models with Data from Flash X-Ray, Mechanical Testing, and Microstructural Analysis
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Ambrose, Javier [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL↗
FY25 Planned High-Temperature Mechanical Tests of LPBF 316H SS Performance at INL
This document is not the full report but contains the contribution to the Argonne National Laboratory’s Milestone which presents the consolidated research report on the laser powder bed fusion 316H material. This document provides an update on the creep and creep-fatigue test effort at Idaho National Laboratory.
316H Steel↗
Benchmark Mechanical Test Results of Westinghouse Zirconium Cladding and Irradiated Testing Readiness
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Garrison, Ben [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000316880682)↗
Automated Non-Destructive Mechanical Testing of Fine Pitch Wirebond Arrays
This is the required paper summarizing the poster presentation material to be presented at The 25th European Microelectronics & Packaging Conference (EMPC 2025) (16 – 18 September 2025). The paper will be associated with the conference presentation in the conference proceedings
Menk, Lyle Alexander [Sandia National Laboratories↗
Two–Photon Polymerized Shape Memory Microfibers: A New Mechanical Characterization Method in Liquid
Two-photon polymerization (TPP) is widely used to create 3D micro- and nanoscale scaffolds for biological and mechanobiological studies, which often require the mechanical characterization of the TPP fabricated structures. To satisfy physiological requirements, most of the mechanical characterizations need to be conducted in liquid. However, previous characterizations of TPP fabricated structures are all conducted in air due to the limitation of conventional micro- and nanoscale mechanical testing methods. In this study, a new experimental method is reported for testing the mechanical properties of TPP-printed microfibers in liquid. The experiments show that the mechanical behaviors of the microfibers tested in liquid are significantly different from those tested in air. By controlling the TPP writing parameters, the mechanical properties of the microfibers can be tailored over a wide range to meet a variety of mechanobiology applications. In addition, it is found that, in water, the plasticly deformed microfibers can return to their predeformed shape after tensile strain is released. The shape recovery time is dependent on the size of microfibers. The experimental method represents a significant advancement in mechanical testing of TPP fabricated structures and may help release the full potential of TPP fabricated 3D tissue scaffolds for mechanobiological studies.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) Experimenter's Guide
The Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) was built to streamline and accelerate the in-sodium testing of systems and components under conditions that simulate a sodium-cooled fast reactor pool environment. The METL team at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) can assist experimenters in achieving their technical goals by providing liquid-metal expertise and access to infrastructure required for most alkali metal related research. This document offers a brief overview of METL and provides a basic design guide for researchers interested in conducting research at the facility. Additional information regarding the history and operations of METL can be found in §6.1. Furthermore, high resolution images found in this document as well as CAD files of aforementioned vessels can be provided upon request.
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
High-Temperature Sodium System Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) Technologies at the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL)
This report documents the deployment of non-destructive testing (NDT) technologies at the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL). METL became operational in September 2018 with the mission to provide an ecosystem for Advanced Reactor Development (ARD). METLs flagship facility’s primary purpose is conducting small to intermediate scale tests for Sodium Fast Reactors (SFR). Its resemblance to a commercial SFR’s intermediate heat transport system, prototypic operating conditions, and industrial construction practices/materials provides the overarching benefit of establishing a proving ground for devices of all technology readiness levels as well as commercial off-the-shelf equipment yet to be demonstrated on a sodium system.
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
Mechanical behavior and texture evolution of WE43 magnesium-rare earth alloy in Split-Hopkinson Pressure Bar and Taylor Impact Cylinder Testing
Mechanical behavior and texture evolution of Mg rare-earth alloy WE43 is investigated for strain-rates 10 -3 /s to upwards of 10 5 /s for the two material conditions - as-cast (AC) and T6 age hardened, rolled plate (RT6). The high strain-rate behavior is tested using both Taylor cylinder impact tests (TC) and split Hopkinson pressure bar tests (SHB) and bulk textures are obtained using neutron diffraction. Unlike the quasi-static strained material, AC and RT6 SHB retained high hardening rates throughout the test, even up to 30% true strain. Moreover, the high strain-rate data revealed that the RT6 material has a much higher strength than the AC material, but similar hardening rates despite significantly different initial texture. The flow stress near yield increased up to I 0% for RT6 and up to 30% for AC as the strain-rate increased six orders of magnitude from quasi-static rates 10 -3 /s to 10 3 /s. Neither material exhibited significant plastic anisotropy over the broad range of strain rates, despite the fact that the RT6 material had a moderately strong initial texture. In the TC tests, the geometric cross-sectional changes and texture along the cylinder from the cylindrical sample foot to head are measured and from the neutron diffraction texture analysis, upper-bound estimates of twin volume fraction are obtained as well as dislocation density from analyzing diffraction peak broadening. Recorded geometrical changes along several loading directions show that the material has deformed remarkably homogeneously under impact. Analysis of deformed textures indicates that {101¯2} extension deformation twinning occurred in the RT6 condition over the range of strain rates, with an upper bound estimate of 40% twin volume fraction for approximately 0.10-0.25 true strain. The peak texture components after the impact have their c-axes closely aligned with the impact direction. As a result, these observations are presented and rationalized in the paper.
42 ENGINEERING↗
Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) Operations and Testing Report (FY2020)
This report documents the operations and testing that was performed at the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) during FY2020. The METL facility had a very successful second year of operations having logged over 730 days (as of September 19, 2020) of operations with molten sodium either flowing or static. The METL piping and vessel system was filled with sodium on September 19, 2018 after a successful transfer of sodium from fifteen 55-gallon drums. FY2020 saw the successful reconditioning and insertion of the Gear Test Assembly (GTA) for its second round of testing, the full use of the 18-inch Flexi-Cask system, the second extraction of the GTA from METL, and the removal of sodium from the GTA test article by the carbonation process followed by an alcohol wash. In addition, METL is being prepared to support a second larger experiment, a thermal hydraulic experiment, called Thermal Hydraulic Experimental Test Article (THETA).
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) Operations and Testing Report (FY2021)
This report documents the operations and testing that was performed at the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) during FY2021. The METL facility had a very successful third year of operations having logged about 944 days of operations with molten sodium either in a flowing or static condition. Operations were paused in April 20, 2021 to accommodate the refurbishing of building 308’s alkali metal passivation booth and scrubber (AMPB&S). METL is being prepared to support a second larger experiment, the Thermal Hydraulic Experimental Test Article (THETA) and expects to resume the Gear Test Assembly (GTA) testing. The technology development team is also developing two additional experiments, a gripper test article and a flow sensor test article that are expected to go into METL in late FY22 or early FY23.
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) Experimenter's Guide - Revision 2
The Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) was built to streamline and accelerate the in-sodium testing of systems and components under conditions that simulate a sodium-cooled fast reactor pool environment. The METL team at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) can assist experimenters in achieving their technical goals by providing liquid-metal expertise and access to infrastructure required for most alkali metal related research. This document offers a brief overview of METL and provides a basic design guide for researchers interested in conducting research at the facility. Additional information regarding the history and operations of METL can be found in §6.1. Furthermore, high resolution images found in this document as well as CAD files of aforementioned vessels can be provided upon request.
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop - Flexicask Design and Testing Report
This report documents the design development and testing of the Flexicask system for the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL). Currently, METL has completed Phase I construction and has been operating for over a year. The Flexicask system (Figure 1) was designed to allow for the removal and insertion of test articles into a METL test vessel while maintaining an acceptable inert atmosphere to minimize contamination of the METL sodium. This report discusses the design development of the Flexicask system, the commissioning and testing of the system, and the initial use of the Flexicask system to remove the Gear Test Assembly (GTA) from the METL Test Vessel 1.
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
Sensitivity Analysis of Salt Storage Cavern Mechanical Integrity Test Parameters
This report examines the sensitivity of salt cavern Mechanical Integrity Tests (MIT) to uncertainties in key test parameters. MIT's are used by cavern operators to detect and quantify leak rates in access wells in underground salt storage caverns and involve a suite of measured and assumed parameters that have a direct impact on the sensitivity of the testing to detect actual leaks from the cavern storage system. Determining the sensitivity of the testing to these different parameters provides a basis for understanding the results from, and informing the design criteria for, this type of testing. Without fully understanding the sensitivity of the test to the testing parameters, it is possible that the test results may not accurately reflect the integrity of the cavern system; an actual leak may be missed, or an intact system may be interpreted as leaking. This report reviews the main parameters included in MITs and examines how selected changes in their values can impact test results. The deviations used in the sensitivity analyses were designed to be within the ranges believed to be similar to those which may be encountered during testing. The results show that small, plausible fluctuations in some of the parameters measured values can have a significant impact on the testing results. Of the parameters studied here, the sensitivity analyses showed the order of importance to be (from highest to lowest): nitrogen-oil interface depth measurement, well bore temperature, well head pressure, and finally the internal geometry of the testing interval.
42 ENGINEERING↗
A review of cladding failure thresholds in RIA conditions based on transient reactor test data and the need for continued testing
Transient reactor experiments on light water reactor (LWR) fuel pins had been conducted since the beginning of the nuclear era to help determine core coolability and cladding failure thresholds. During one such test in November of 1993 at the CABRI transient test reactor on a test involving a high burnup fuel rod with a corroded Zircaloy-4 cladding it was first observed that cladding failures could occur prior to a departure from nucleate boiling (pre-DNB) at lower-than-expected peak radial average enthalpies. Thirteen additional tests would be performed in the CABRI reactor over the next decade on fuel rods with higher burnups [1]. Additionally, a larger testing program at the NSRR reactor in Japan with high burnup fuel would uncover a similar trend of pre-DNB ruptures in high burnup test rods at lower-than-expected peak enthalpies [2]. Numerous out of pile testing programs involving a variety of innovative mechanical testing techniques have been employed in an attempt to better quantify the failure thresholds of corroded zirconium alloy cladding in these rapid heating and loading conditions [3][4][5]. While previously interim guidance had been issued, in June of 2020 the NRC officially published updated regulatory guidance to account of these pre-DNB failures in Regulatory Guide 1.236 [6]. This paper will present an independent review of the publicly available transient reactor test database on higher burnup LWR pins conducted at the CABRI and NSRR reactors as well as review of a selection of published out of pile mechanical testing methods. The purpose of the review is to determine how well the new regulatory limits are supported by experimental data. The review will identify if additional transient reactor tests could provide additional support for the NRC guidance or identify the need for revisions. The evaluation will consider how far the existing database can be extrapolated when considering low hydrogen zirconium alloy claddings (with and without protective coatings) containing very high burnup (> 70 MWd/kgU) UO2 fuel pellets. Finally, the authors will suggest how out of pile mechanical tests can be used in conjunction with a limited number of transient reactor tests to develop cladding specific failure thresholds in RIA type transients.
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
Gear Test Assembly – Experimental Testing and Gear Analysis (FY2021 Year End Report)
The Gear Test Assembly (GTA) is an experimental apparatus designed to test mechanical components used in fuel handling systems of liquid-sodium cooled fast-spectrum nuclear reactors. The performance and lifetime of gears, bearings, and dynamic seals are the primary focus of study. Three experimental campaigns have been completed since the start of operation in 2019, and the GTA is currently assembled and ready to begin the fourth experimental campaign. Sodium operations at the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) have been paused while repairs are made to the Building 308 Alkali Metal Scrubber. This work is nearly complete, and once METL is brought back into operation the GTA will begin sodium testing immediately.
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
Femto-second Laser’s Enabling New Length Scale Fabrications for Rapid Post Irradiation Examination of Materials: Concluding LDRD Project Poster
Mechanical testing campaigns are required to qualify materials for advanced reactor conditions, yet economical and safety limitations restrict the number of standardized mechanical tests that can be performed. Reducing the size of the sample is one approach to addressing these challenges and to accelerating testing. Previous research has shown that smaller mechanical test samples produce higher yield and ultimate stress values compared to values measured from standard sample sizes: the “smaller is stronger” effect. Specimens used in accelerated material testing campaigns must reflect bulk material performance to enable engineering scale material property measurement. The objective of this research project was to determine if engineering scale mechanical behavior—the yield stress—could be measured with micro-tensile test samples smaller than traditional standard testing geometries. The relationship between yield stress and sample size was explored with two different nuclear-relevant structural materials: Zircaloy-4 and tungsten. Mechanical testing of both metals demonstrated decreasing yield stress values with increasing sample gauge size across three different sizes. Yield stress values from the largest gauge size, fabricated with a femto-second laser ablation system, approach bulk material yield stress values reported in published literature. Preliminary analysis of the tungsten samples indicates the yield stress value depends on the grain characteristics within the gauge section, in addition to the gauge size. Accompanying modeling efforts, including response surface generation and crystal plasticity approaches, further demonstrated that the size of the sample gauge section alone cannot explain the change in yield stress values.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Pulse Shaping in 1D Elastic Waveguides for Shock Testing
Mechanical shock events experienced by electronics systems can be reproduced in the laboratory using Hopkinson bar tests. In these tests a projectile strikes an bar, creating a pulse which travels through the bar into the system. The quality of these tests depends on the closeness of the shape of the incident pulse to the shape specified for the test. This paper introduces a new way to control the shape of the incoming pulse, through the use of elastic metamaterial concepts. Two dispersion-modifying material concepts, phononic crystals, and local resonators, are examined for their wave shaping capabilities in 1D elastic waveguides. They are then evaluated using a transfer matrix method to determine the output wave shape in the time domain. The concepts are then optimized for various pulse shapes, showing that they are most effective when they are tuned to introduce dispersion near the fundamental frequency of the incident wave.
DeLima, Washington↗