Effect of Hydride Distribution on the Mechanical Properties of Zirconium-Alloy Fuel Cladding and Guide Tubes PDF Download
Are you looking for read ebook online? Search for your book and save it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Download Effect of Hydride Distribution on the Mechanical Properties of Zirconium-Alloy Fuel Cladding and Guide Tubes PDF full book. Access full book title Effect of Hydride Distribution on the Mechanical Properties of Zirconium-Alloy Fuel Cladding and Guide Tubes by Suresh K. Yagnik. Download full books in PDF and EPUB format.
Author: Suresh K. Yagnik
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Hydrides
Languages : en
Pages : 31
Get Book Here
Book Description
Localization of hydride precipitates exacerbates the hydrogen embrittlement effects on the deformation and fracture properties of Zircaloy fuel cladding materials. Thus, at comparable hydrogen concentration levels, localized hydride precipitates are more detrimental from the standpoint of cladding integrity during service. Indeed, the hydride precipitates are often non-homogeneously distributed in fuel assembly components; for example, in irradiated fuel cladding, the hydride rim is formed near the outer oxide-metal interface because of the temperature gradient that exists during operation. With increasing fuel burnup, this hydride rim not only becomes denser but might be accompanied by gradients in local hydrogen and hydride concentrations through the rest of the cladding wall thickness. Whereas the importance of hydride spacing and their orientation, as well as the alloy matrix ligaments interspaced with the distributed hydride has been recognized in the literature, little work has been reported on the effects of hydride precipitate distribution on the mechanical properties of Zircaloy fuel assembly component materials. In this paper, we report on an extensive mechanical test program on low-tin Zircaloy-4 specimens from stress-relieved cladding and recrystallized guide tubes, charged with hydrogen to obtain uniform, rimmed, and layered hydride distributions. The hydrogen concentration (0-1200 ppm) and hydride rim thickness (10-90 ?m) were also varied. The strain rate was kept at 10-4/s to simulate in-service steady-state conditions and the tests were conducted both at room temperature and 300°C. All test specimens were of small-gauge-section, cut-outs from cladding, and guide tubes. The loading configurations included slotted-arc test (SAT) on half-ring-shaped specimens and uniaxial tension test (UTT) on dog-bone-shaped cut-outs. Further, prompted by the finite-element analysis of the gauge-section region, a unique geometry of internal slotted-arc specimens with parallel gauge section (ISATP) was chosen. Detailed stress-strain curves for all tests were measured, and post-test fractography and local hydrogen concentrations within the gauge sections were measured by hot extractions. Comparative data on the measured strengths and elongations for the three types of hydride distributions (i.e., uniform, rimmed, and layered) are presented. Quantification and analyses of these effects have provided a general constitutive stress-strain relationship for assessing margins to cladding or guide tube failures.
Author: Suresh K. Yagnik
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Hydrides
Languages : en
Pages : 31
Get Book Here
Book Description
Localization of hydride precipitates exacerbates the hydrogen embrittlement effects on the deformation and fracture properties of Zircaloy fuel cladding materials. Thus, at comparable hydrogen concentration levels, localized hydride precipitates are more detrimental from the standpoint of cladding integrity during service. Indeed, the hydride precipitates are often non-homogeneously distributed in fuel assembly components; for example, in irradiated fuel cladding, the hydride rim is formed near the outer oxide-metal interface because of the temperature gradient that exists during operation. With increasing fuel burnup, this hydride rim not only becomes denser but might be accompanied by gradients in local hydrogen and hydride concentrations through the rest of the cladding wall thickness. Whereas the importance of hydride spacing and their orientation, as well as the alloy matrix ligaments interspaced with the distributed hydride has been recognized in the literature, little work has been reported on the effects of hydride precipitate distribution on the mechanical properties of Zircaloy fuel assembly component materials. In this paper, we report on an extensive mechanical test program on low-tin Zircaloy-4 specimens from stress-relieved cladding and recrystallized guide tubes, charged with hydrogen to obtain uniform, rimmed, and layered hydride distributions. The hydrogen concentration (0-1200 ppm) and hydride rim thickness (10-90 ?m) were also varied. The strain rate was kept at 10-4/s to simulate in-service steady-state conditions and the tests were conducted both at room temperature and 300°C. All test specimens were of small-gauge-section, cut-outs from cladding, and guide tubes. The loading configurations included slotted-arc test (SAT) on half-ring-shaped specimens and uniaxial tension test (UTT) on dog-bone-shaped cut-outs. Further, prompted by the finite-element analysis of the gauge-section region, a unique geometry of internal slotted-arc specimens with parallel gauge section (ISATP) was chosen. Detailed stress-strain curves for all tests were measured, and post-test fractography and local hydrogen concentrations within the gauge sections were measured by hot extractions. Comparative data on the measured strengths and elongations for the three types of hydride distributions (i.e., uniform, rimmed, and layered) are presented. Quantification and analyses of these effects have provided a general constitutive stress-strain relationship for assessing margins to cladding or guide tube failures.
Author: Soyoung Kang
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Get Book Here
Book Description
Zirconium alloys have been widely used for nuclear fuel cladding materials in light-water nuclear reactors. The cladding corrodes as a result of exposure to the coolant water and produces hydrogen as a result of the corrosion reaction. A fraction of this hydrogen can be picked up into the cladding material. Once the hydrogen content reaches the terminal solid solubility, zirconium hydride particles start to precipitate. The cladding suffers waterside corrosion in service, leading to hydrogen ingress, which can redistribute in the cladding and form hydrides. Because these zirconium hydrides are more brittle than the zirconium matrix, they can deteriorate the ductility of the cladding. Therefore, understanding hydrogen behavior in cladding is important to maintain cladding integrity. This study aims to investigate hydrogen migration under a temperature gradient and mechanical behavior of hydrided zirconium alloys. The hydrogen transport and hydride precipitation /dissolution model HNGD was implemented in the fuel performance code BISON to predict hydrogen behavior. The hydrogen is distributed inhomogeneously in the cladding as a result of Fick's law and Soret effect. The hydrogen tends to move from higher to lower concentration governed by Fick's law and higher to lower temperature based on the Soret effect. Hydrogen migration tests were designed to determine the heat of transport value (Q*) of hydrogen in Zr, a parameter needed to evaluate the Soret effect. Hydrided samples were subjected to a long annealing schedule in a temperature gradient to re-distribute the hydrogen. The annealed samples were cut into several pieces along the temperature gradient, and the hydrogen contents were analyzed using hot vacuum extraction. The hydrogen distribution along the temperature gradient was observed in this experiment, and from this data, the heat of transport value (Q*) was determined. Further, the mechanical behavior of zirconium alloys was assessed using ring compression tests. The zirconium alloy tubes were characterized by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) to identify the microstructure of materials. Stress relieved anneal ZIRLO (SRA) and low Sn Partially recrystallized anneal LT ZIRLO (PRXA) show different grain shapes and sizes. After characterization, the zirconium alloy tubes were hydrogen charged and cut into 8 mm length rings. The ring samples were subjected to compression at 12 o'clock following a specified thermomechanical cycle. This thermomechanical treatment caused partial precipitation of radial hydrides in certain positions of the ring samples. The radial hydride fractions were characterized and showed a difference between ZIRLO and LT ZIRLO because of their different microstructures. Finite element modeling conducted using ABAQUS could then determine the threshold stress for two materials by comparing simulation results (stress state) and hydride morphologies. In addition, the ring compression tests for assessing hydrided cladding ductility for various hydride morphologies were conducted at room temperature. Ring samples with different radial hydride continuity factors (RHCF) were tested to determine their load-displacement curves. The 1% permanent strain and 2 % offset strain criteria were chosen to assess the ductility of samples. The ductility degrades with increasing RHCF.
Author: Manfred P. Puls
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1447141954
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 475
Get Book Here
Book Description
By drawing together the current theoretical and experimental understanding of the phenomena of delayed hydride cracking (DHC) in zirconium alloys, The Effect of Hydrogen and Hydrides on the Integrity of Zirconium Alloy Components: Delayed Hydride Cracking provides a detailed explanation focusing on the properties of hydrogen and hydrides in these alloys. Whilst the emphasis lies on zirconium alloys, the combination of both the empirical and mechanistic approaches creates a solid understanding that can also be applied to other hydride forming metals. This up-to-date reference focuses on documented research surrounding DHC, including current methodologies for design and assessment of the results of periodic in-service inspections of pressure tubes in nuclear reactors. Emphasis is placed on showing how our understanding of DHC is supported by progress in general understanding of such broad fields as the study of hysteresis associated with first order phase transformations, phase relationships in coherent crystalline metallic solids, the physics of point and line defects, diffusion of substitutional and interstitial atoms in crystalline solids, and continuum fracture and solid mechanics. Furthermore, an account of current methodologies is given illustrating how such understanding of hydrogen, hydrides and DHC in zirconium alloys underpins these methodologies for assessments of real life cases in the Canadian nuclear industry. The all-encompassing approach makes The Effect of Hydrogen and Hydrides on the Integrity of Zirconium Alloy Component: Delayed Hydride Cracking an ideal reference source for students, researchers and industry professionals alike.
Author: Robert Odette
Publisher: Newnes
ISBN: 012397349X
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 673
Get Book Here
Book Description
High-performance alloys that can withstand operation in hazardous nuclear environments are critical to presentday in-service reactor support and maintenance and are foundational for reactor concepts of the future. With commercial nuclear energy vendors and operators facing the retirement of staff during the coming decades, much of the scholarly knowledge of nuclear materials pursuant to appropriate, impactful, and safe usage is at risk. Led by the multi-award winning editorial team of G. Robert Odette (UCSB) and Steven J. Zinkle (UTK/ORNL) and with contributions from leaders of each alloy discipline, Structural Alloys for Nuclear Energy Applications aids the next generation of researchers and industry staff developing and maintaining steels, nickel-base alloys, zirconium alloys, and other structural alloys in nuclear energy applications. This authoritative reference is a critical acquisition for institutions and individuals seeking state-of-the-art knowledge aided by the editors’ unique personal insight from decades of frontline research, engineering and management. Focuses on in-service irradiation, thermal, mechanical, and chemical performance capabilities. Covers the use of steels and other structural alloys in current fission technology, leading edge Generation-IV fission reactors, and future fusion power reactors. Provides a critical and comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art experimental knowledge base of reactor materials, for applications ranging from engineering safety and lifetime assessments to supporting the development of advanced computational models.
Author: W. J. Babyak
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Zircaloy-2
Languages : en
Pages : 54
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: Pierre Simon
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book Here
Book Description
Zirconium alloys are widely used in the nuclear industry as fuel cladding due to their particular properties. During normal operation conditions, hydrogen enters the cladding and forms brittle hydride precipitates. The effect of the presence of hydrides on the deformation behavior of the cladding largely depends on the orientation and the morphology of the hydrides. Because of the zirconium texture and the thermo-mechanical conditions, hydrides usually precipitate circumferentially in the cladding. However, temperature cycling and the application of additional stress can lead to hydride reorientation in the radial direction, which eases crack propagation through the cladding, and thus threatens the integrity of the fuel rod. In an effort to understand the mechanisms governing the orientation and the morphology of the hydrides, two different phase field models were developed using the Multi-physics Object Oriented Simulation Environment MOOSE. The first model was first proposed by Wheeler, Boettinger, and McFadden and is known as the WBM model. The second model, called the grand potential model, has the advantage of allowing the definition of the interfacial thickness independently of the bulk free energy of the different phases of the system. It thus allows the use of thicker interfaces, which means coarser mesh, making the simulations computationally less expensive. Because of the importance of the mechanical contributions in the nucleation and growth of hydride precipitates, both phase field models have then been coupled with elastic schemes. The first scheme, called the Voight-Taylor scheme (VTS), was shown to strongly overestimate the elastic free energy contribution at the interface, while the Khachaturya's scheme (KHS) performed better with just a small underestimation of the elastic free energy at the interface. In the project presented in this thesis, the multi-phase models simulated the alpha phase of the zirconium as well as the zeta, the gamma, and the delta phase of the hydrides. The models are dimensional, use the Gibbs free energy of formation of the different phases and the mechanical properties found in the literature. In this study, the phase field models have been carefully verified, meaning that their implementations have been successfully tested by comparing their results to widely accepted solutions. Once the models were applied to the zirconium hydride system, the first steps towards the validation of the code were promising. Simulated hydrides grew preferentially in the direction of the basal plane of the zirconium matrix, thus reproducing experimental observations.
Author: DG. Hardy
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Axial stress
Languages : en
Pages : 43
Get Book Here
Book Description
Short-time axial tension, transverse ring tension, and biaxial closed end burst tests were conducted on sections of fuel cladding from 17 different batches and heat treatments of Zircaloy 2, Zircaloy 4, and Zr-2.5Cb alloy. Specimens were irradiated at 2 to 3x1020 n/cm2, E > x MeV, at temperatures of 125 to 250 C and tested at temperatures of 20 and 300 C.
Author: B. A. Cheadle
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: E.D. Hindle
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 15
Get Book Here
Book Description
Author: Evrard Lacroix
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Get Book Here
Book Description
Nuclear fuel cladding undergoes waterside corrosion during normal operating conditions in pressurized water reactors, whereby the zirconium (Zr) in the fuel cladding reacts with the oxygen present in water, creating zirconia (ZrO) and releasing hydrogen. Part of the hydrogen created by the corrosion reaction can be absorbed into the fuel cladding. Once in the cladding, hydrogen redistributes by solid state diffusion in the metal, in response to gradients of concentration, temperature and stress. Once the local hydrogen solubility is exceeded, zirconium hydride precipitates are formed.The precipitation of hydrides may impact the integrity of zirconium-based nuclear fuel cladding, both during normal operation and during extended dry storage. It is important to model hydrogen behavior accurately, so as to assess cladding properties both in reactor and during dry storage. This is because the cladding is the first containment barrier, which prevents fission products to be released into the primary circuit. For this reason, this study aims to first understand hydride precipitation and dissolution and then implement this understanding into a hydride precipitation and dissolution model. To this end, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments were used to study the precipitation and dissolution of hydrides in Zircaloy-4 under different thermo-mechanical conditions.Results showed that when hydrided samples were cooled at cooling rates above 1C/min the hydrogen content in solid solution decreased, following the Terminal Solid Solubility for Precipitation (TSSP) curve. However, when the samples were held at a fixed temperature for a long anneal, the hydrogen content in solid solution continued to decrease below the TSSP and approached the Terminal Solid Solubility for Dissolution (TSSD). This result suggests that TSSP is a kinetic limit and that a unique solubility limit, i.e. TSSD governs the equilibrium hydrogen concentration in solid solution. DSC was used to perform isothermal precipitation experiments, from which the hydride precipitation rate and the degree of precipitation completion were quantified between 280 and 350C for the first time. The data obtained was used to generate a TTT diagram for hydride precipitation in Zircaloy-4 showing that hydride precipitation is diffusion-controlled at low temperatures and reaction-controlled at high temperatures. The experimental precipitation rate was fitted using the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov model to obtain a value of the Avrami parameter of 2.56 (2.5 is the theoretical value for the growth of platelet-shaped precipitates). It was also possible to derive the precipitation activation energy of for each process. Because it was possible to separate hydride nucleation and hydride growth, it was possible to ascertain that if the hydrogen content in solid solution is greater than TSSP, precipitation occurs by hydride nucleation. In contrast, precipitation occurs by hydride growth as long as hydride platelets are present and the hydrogen content in solid solution is above TSSD. Hydride dissolution will take place if hydrides are present and the hydrogen content in solid solution is below TSSP. Using this new understanding of hydrogen precipitation and dissolution mechanisms, experiments were conducted at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) using high temperature change rates to measure hydride nucleation and dissolution kinetics. These observations and measurements were combined to existing theory to a model, entitled Hydride Growth, Nucleation, and Dissolution model (HNGD model) that can accurately simulate hydrogen behavior in Zircaloy fuel cladding and that shows a significant improvement on the model used in BISON.The development of such a model is the first step towards obtaining a model for the impact of the development of hydride microstructure on nuclear fuel cladding mechanical properties during normal operation and to address concerns over fuel handling during dry storage. The use and benchmarking of such a code can be used to justify a safe burnup extension of nuclear fuel, which would reduce the cost of nuclear energy in an increasingly competitive market.
