Results for “PIE” — Page 19

DOE OSTI2012

AFIP-4 Irradiation Summary Report

The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) Full size plate In center flux trap Position (AFIP) experiment AFIP-4 was designed to evaluate the performance of monolithic uranium-molybdenum (U-Mo) fuels at a scale prototypic of research reactor fuel plates. The AFIP-4 test further examine the fuel/clad interface and its behavior under extreme conditions. After irradiation, fission gas retention measurements will be performed during post irradiation (PIE)1,2. The following report summarizes the life of the AFIP-4 experiment through end of irradiation, including a brief description of the safety analysis, as-run neutronic analysis results, hydraulic testing results, and thermal analysis results.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2013

Natural Gas and the Transformation of the U.S. Energy Sector: A Program Studying Multi-sector Opportunities and Impacts

In recognition of the major transitions occurring within the U.S. energy economy, the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis (JISEA) and Stanford University's Precourt Institute for Energy (PIE) engaged energy system stakeholders from government, industry, academia, and the environmental community in a discussion about the priority issues for a program of rigorous research relating to natural gas. Held December 10-11, 2012 on the Golden, CO campus of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the workshop provided invited experts opportunity to describe the state of current knowledge in defined topic areas, and to suggest analytic priorities for that topic area. Following discussion, all stakeholders then contributed potential research questions for each topic, and then determined priorities through an interactive voting process. This record of proceedings focuses on the outcomes of the discussion.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

DOE OSTI2013

A Magnetic Diagnostic Code for 3D Fusion Equilibria

A synthetic magnetic diagnostics code for fusion equilibria is presented. This code calculates the response of various magnetic diagnostics to the equilibria produced by the VMEC and PIES codes. This allows for treatment of equilibria with both good nested flux surfaces and those with stochastic regions. DIAGNO v2.0 builds upon previous codes through the implementation of a virtual casing principle. The code is validated against a vacuum shot on the Large Helical Device (LHD) where the vertical field was ramped. As an exercise of the code, the diagnostic response for various equilibria are calculated on the LHD.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2013

Retail Buildings: Assessing and Reducing Plug and Process Loads in Retail Buildings (Fact Sheet)

Plug and process loads (PPLs) in commercial buildings account for almost 5% of U.S. primary energy consumption. Minimizing these loads is a primary challenge in the design and operation of an energy-efficient building. PPLs are not related to general lighting, heating, ventilation, cooling, and water heating, and typically do not provide comfort to the occupants. They use an increasingly largefraction of the building energy use pie because the number and variety of electrical devices have increased along with building system efficiency. Reducing PPLs is difficult because energy efficiency opportunities and the equipment needed to address PPL energy use in retail spaces are poorly understood.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2013

Office Buildings: Assessing and Reducing Plug and Process Loads in Office Buildings (Fact Sheet)

Plug and process loads (PPLs) in commercial buildings account for almost 5% of U.S. primary energy consumption. Minimizing these loads is a primary challenge in the design and operation of an energy-efficient building. PPLs are not related to general lighting, heating, ventilation, cooling, and water heating, and typically do not provide comfort to the occupants. They use an increasingly largefraction of the building energy use pie because the number and variety of electrical devices have increased along with building system efficiency. Reducing PPLs is difficult because energy efficiency opportunities and the equipment needed to address PPL energy use in office spaces are poorly understood.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2014

Experimental Plan for EDF Energy Creep Rabbit Graphite Irradiations- Rev. 2 (replaces Rev. 0 ORNL/TM/2013/49)

The experimental results obtained here will assist in the development and validation of future models of irradiation induced creep of graphite by providing the following data: Inert creep stain data from low to lifetime AGR fluence Inert creep-property data (especially CTE) from low to lifetime AGR fluence Effect of oxidation on creep modulus (by indirect comparison with experiment 1 and direct comparison with experiment 3 NB. Experiment 1 and 3 are not covered here) Data to develop a mechanistic understanding, including: appropriate creep modulus (including pinning and high dose effects on structure), investigation of CTE-creep strain behavior under inert conditions oInformation on the effect of applied stress/creep strain on crystallite orientation (requires XRD), effect of creep strain on micro-porosity (requires tomography & microscopy) This document describes the experimental work planned to meet the requirements of project technical specification and EDF Energy requests for additional Pre-IE work. The PIE work is described in detail in this revision (Section 8 and 9).

Burchell, Timothy D.↗

DOE OSTI2014

Comparison of fission product release predictions using PARFUME with results from the AGR-1 safety tests

Safety tests were conducted on fourteen fuel compacts from AGR-1, the first irradiation experiment of the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) Fuel Development and Qualification program, at temperatures ranging from 1600 to 1800°C to determine fission product release at temperatures that bound reactor accident conditions. The PARFUME (PARticle FUel ModEl) code was used to predict the release of fission products silver, cesium, strontium, and krypton from fuel compacts containing tristructural isotropic (TRISO) coated particles during the safety tests, and the predicted values were compared with experimental results. Preliminary comparisons between PARFUME predictions and post-irradiation examination (PIE) results of the safety tests show different trends in the prediction of the fractional release depending on the species, and it leads to different conclusions regarding the diffusivities used in the modeling of fission product transport in TRISO-coated particles: • For silver, the diffusivity in silicon carbide (SiC) might be over-estimated by a factor of at least 102 to 103 at 1600°C and 1700°C, and at least 10 to 102 at 1800°C. The diffusivity of silver in uranium oxy-carbide (UCO) might also be over-estimated, but the available data are insufficient to allow definitive conclusions to be drawn. • For cesium, the diffusivity in UCO might be over-estimated by a factor of at least 102 to 103 at 1600°C, 105 at 1700°C, and 103 at 1800°C. The diffusivity of cesium in SiC might also over-estimated, by a factor of 10 at 1600°C and 103 at 1700°C, based upon the comparisons between calculated and measured release fractions from intact particles. There is no available estimate at 1800°C since all the compacts heated up at 1800°C contain particles with failed SiC layers whose release dominates the release from intact particles. • For strontium, the diffusivity in SiC might be over-estimated by a factor of 10 to 102 at 1600 and 1700°C, and 102 to 103 at 1800°C. These values might be somewhat over-estimated because the strontium retention during irradiation cannot be assessed a priori, which affects the magnitude of the calculated release during safety testing. The diffusivity of strontium in UCO cannot be derived from these heating tests, but it is assumed to be modeled correctly using the IAEA recommended value for kernel diffusivity. • For krypton, there is no reliable release data for compacts heated up at 1600°C, which includes all the compacts containing only intact particles. At 1700 and 1800°C, comparisons show an over-prediction of the release from compacts containing particles with failed SiC by 1 to 1.5 orders of magnitude. The available data from these heating tests do not allow to determine which of the TRISO-coating’s layers diffusivities are under or over-estimated.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2014

AGC-2 Disassembly Report

The Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Graphite Research and Development (R&D) Program is currently measuring irradiated material properties for predicting the behavior and operating performance of new nuclear graphite grades available for use within the cores of new very high temperature reactor designs. The Advanced Graphite Creep (AGC) experiment, consisting of six irradiation capsules, will generate irradiated graphite performance data for NGNP reactor operating conditions. The AGC experiment is designed to determine the changes to specific material properties such as thermal diffusivity, thermal expansion, elastic modulus, mechanical strength, irradiation induced dimensional change rate, and irradiation creep for a wide variety of nuclear grade graphite types over a range of high temperature, and moderate doses. A series of six capsules containing graphite test specimens will be used to expose graphite test samples to a dose range from 1 to 7 dpa at three different temperatures (600, 900, and 1200°C) as described in the Graphite Technology Development Plan. Since irradiation induced creep within graphite components is considered critical to determining the operational life of the graphite core, some of the samples will also be exposed to an applied load to determine the creep rate for each graphite type under both temperature and neutron flux. All six AGC capsules in the experiment will be irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). AGC-1 and AGC-2 will be irradiated in the south flux trap and AGC-3–AGC-6 will be irradiated in the east flux trap. The change in flux traps is due to NGNP irradiation priorities requiring the AGC experiment to be moved to accommodate Fuel irradiation experiments. After irradiation, all six AGC capsules will be cooled in the ATR Canal, sized for shipment, and shipped to the Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) where the capsule will be disassembled in the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF). During disassembly, the metallic capsule will be machined open and the individual samples removed from the interior graphite body containing the samples. Samples removed from the capsule will be loaded in a shipping drum and shipped to the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Research Center (IRC) for initial post-irradiation examination (PIE) and storage for any future testing at the newly completed Carbon Characterization Laboratory (CCL). All work was performed under an ASME NQA-1-2008;1a-2009 compliant quality assurance program.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2014

AGR-2 Irradiation Test Final As-Run Report, Rev 2

This document presents the as-run analysis of the AGR-2 irradiation experiment. AGR-2 is the second of the planned irradiations for the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) Fuel Development and Qualification Program. Funding for this program is provided by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) Technical Development Office (TDO) program. The objectives of the AGR-2 experiment are to: (a) Irradiate UCO (uranium oxycarbide) and UO 2 (uranium dioxide) fuel produced in a large coater. Fuel attributes are based on results obtained from the AGR-1 test and other project activities. (b) Provide irradiated fuel samples for post-irradiation experiment (PIE) and safety testing. (c) Support the development of an understanding of the relationship between fuel fabrication processes, fuel product properties, and irradiation performance. The primary objective of the test was to irradiate both UCO and UO 2 TRISO (tri-structural isotropic) fuel produced from prototypic scale equipment to obtain normal operation and accident condition fuel performance data. The UCO compacts were subjected to a range of burnups and temperatures typical of anticipated prismatic reactor service conditions in three capsules. The test train also includes compacts containing UO 2 particles produced independently by the United States, South Africa, and France in three separate capsules. The range of burnups and temperatures in these capsules were typical of anticipated pebble bed reactor service conditions. The results discussed in this report pertain only to U.S. produced fuel. In order to achieve the test objectives, the AGR-2 experiment was irradiated in the B-12 position of the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for a total irradiation duration of 559.2 effective full power days (EFPD). Irradiation began on June 22, 2010, and ended on October 16, 2013, spanning 12 ATR power cycles and approximately three and a half calendar years. The test contained six independently controlled and monitored capsules. Each U.S. capsule contained 12 compacts of either UCO or UO2 AGR coated fuel. No fuel particles failed during the AGR-2 irradiation. Final burnup values on a per compact basis ranged from 7.26 to 13.15% FIMA (fissions per initial heavy-metal atom) for UCO fuel, and 9.01 to 10.69% FIMA for UO 2 fuel, while fast fluence values ranged from 1.94 to 3.47 x 10 25 n/m 2 (E >0.18 MeV) for UCO fuel, and from 3.05 to 3.53 x 10 25 n/m 2 (E >0.18 MeV) for UO 2 fuel. Time-average volume-average (TAVA) temperatures on a capsule basis at the end of irradiation ranged from 987°C in Capsule 6 to 1296°C in Capsule 2 for UCO, and from 996 to 1062°C in UO 2 -fueled Capsule 3. By the end of the irradiation, all of the installed thermocouples (TCs) had failed. Fission product release-to-birth (R/B) ratios were quite low. In the UCO capsules, R/B values during the first three cycles were below 10 -6 with the exception of the hotter Capsule 2, in which the R/Bs reached 2 x 10 -6 . In the UO 2 capsule (Capsule 3), the R/B values during the first three cycles were below 10 -7 . R/B values for all following cycles are not reliable due to gas flow and cross talk issues.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2014

AGR-2 Irradiation Test Final As-Run Report

This document presents the as-run analysis of the AGR-2 irradiation experiment. AGR-2 is the second of the planned irradiations for the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) Fuel Development and Qualification Program. Funding for this program is provided by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) Technical Development Office (TDO) program. The objectives of the AGR-2 experiment are to: (a) Irradiate UCO (uranium oxycarbide) and UO 2 (uranium dioxide) fuel produced in a large coater. Fuel attributes are based on results obtained from the AGR-1 test and other project activities. (b) Provide irradiated fuel samples for post-irradiation experiment (PIE) and safety testing. (c) Support the development of an understanding of the relationship between fuel fabrication processes, fuel product properties, and irradiation performance. The primary objective of the test was to irradiate both UCO and UO 2 TRISO (tri-structural isotropic) fuel produced from prototypic scale equipment to obtain normal operation and accident condition fuel performance data. The UCO compacts were subjected to a range of burnups and temperatures typical of anticipated prismatic reactor service conditions in three capsules. The test train also includes compacts containing UO 2 particles produced independently by the United States, South Africa, and France in three separate capsules. The range of burnups and temperatures in these capsules were typical of anticipated pebble bed reactor service conditions. The results discussed in this report pertain only to U.S. produced fuel.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2014

AGR-2 Irradiation Test Final As-Run Report

This document presents the as-run analysis of the AGR-2 irradiation experiment. AGR-2 is the second of the planned irradiations for the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) Fuel Development and Qualification Program. Funding for this program is provided by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) Technology Development Office (TDO) program. The objectives of the AGR-2 experiment are to: 1. Irradiate UCO (uranium oxycarbide) and UO 2 (uranium dioxide) fuel produced in a large coater. Fuel attributes are based on results obtained from the AGR-1 test and other project activities. 2. Provide irradiated fuel samples for post-irradiation experiment (PIE) and safety testing. 3. Support the development of an understanding of the relationship between fuel fabrication processes, fuel product properties, and irradiation performance. The primary objective of the test was to irradiate both UCO and UO 2 TRISO (tristructural isotropic) fuel produced from prototypic scale equipment to obtain normal operation and accident condition fuel performance data. The UCO compacts were subjected to a range of burnups and temperatures typical of anticipated prismatic reactor service conditions in three capsules. The test train also includes compacts containing UO 2 particles produced independently by the United States, South Africa, and France in three separate capsules. The range of burnups and temperatures in these capsules were typical of anticipated pebble bed reactor service conditions. The results discussed in this report pertain only to U.S.-produced fuel.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2012

Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for the Baking Industry: An ENERGY STAR ® Guide for Plant and Energy Managers

The U.S. baking industry—defined in this Energy Guide as facilities engaged in the manufacture of commercial bakery products such as breads, rolls, frozen cakes, pies, pastries, and cookies and crackers—consumes over $800 million worth of purchased fuels and electricity per year. Energy efficiency improvement is an important way to reduce these costs and to increase predictable earnings, especially in times of high energy price volatility. There are a variety of opportunities available at individual plants to reduce energy consumption in a cost-effective manner. This Energy Guide discusses energy efficiency practices and energy-efficient technologies that can be implemented at the component, process, facility, and organizational levels. Many measure descriptions include expected savings in energy and energy-related costs, based on case study data from real-world applications in food processing facilities and related industries worldwide. Typical measure payback periods and references to further information in the technical literature are also provided, when available. A summary of basic, proven measures for improving plant-level water efficiency is also provided. The information in this Energy Guide is intended to help energy and plant managers in the U.S. baking industry reduce energy and water consumption in a cost-effective manner while maintaining the quality of products manufactured. Further research on the economics of all measures—as well as on their applicability to different production practices—is needed to assess their cost effectiveness at individual plants.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2015

Development of a Scanning Microscale Fast Neutron Irradiation Platform for Examining the Correlation Between Local Neutron Damage and Graphite Microstructure

The fast particle radiation damage effect of graphite, a main material in current and future nuclear reactors, has significant influence on the utilization of this material in fission and fusion plants. Atoms on graphite crystals can be easily replaced or dislocated by fast protons and result in interstitials and vacancies. The currently accepted model indicates that after most of the interstitials recombine with vacancies, surviving interstitials form clusters and furthermore gather to create loops with each other between layers. Meanwhile, surviving vacancies and interstitials form dislocation loops on the layers. The growth of these inserted layers cause the dimensional increase, i.e. swelling, of graphite. Interstitial and vacancy dislocation loops have been reported and they can easily been observed by electron microscope. However, observation of the intermediate atom clusters becomes is paramount in helping prove this model. We utilize fast protons generated from the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) cyclotron to irradiate highly- oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) as target for this research. Post-irradiation examination (PIE) of dosed targets with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) has permit observation and analysis of clusters and dislocation loops to support the proposed theory. Another part of the research is to validate M.I. Heggie’s Ruck and Tuck model, which introduced graphite layers may fold under fast particle irradiation. Again, we employed microscopy to image irradiated specimens to determine how the extent of Ruck and Tuck by calculating the number of folds as a function of dose. Our most significant accomplishment is the invention of a novel class of high-intensity pure beta-emitters for long-term lightweight batteries. We have filed four invention disclosure records based on the research conducted in this project. These batteries are lightweight because they consist of carbon and tritium and can be fabricated to conform to many geometric shapes. In addition, we have published eight peer-reviewed American Nuclear Society (ANS) transactions, and presented our findings at ANS National Meetings, and several universities.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2015

Design of Experiment for Irradiation of Welded Candidate Fe-Cr-Al Alloys

The objective of the irradiation campaign described within is to provide critical data on the radiation response of candidate Fe-Cr-Al alloys designed to have enhanced weldability and radiation tolerance. This objective will be met by using a specialized irradiation capsule to be inserted into Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) followed by extensive post irradiation examination (PIE) including mechanical testing and microstructural characterization. Several different irradiation temperatures and doses will be investigated to establish temperature/dose relationships on specific radiation-induced and/or radiation-enhanced mechanisms within the candidate Fe-Cr-Al alloys. Data and analysis as the result of these efforts will enable informed decisions on the future use of Fe-CrAl alloys for a wide range of nuclear power generation applications including fission and fusion based reactor applications.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2015

As-Run Physics Analysis for the UCSB-1 Experiment in the Advanced Test Reactor

The University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) -1 experiment was irradiated in the A-10 position of the ATR. The experiment was irradiated during cycles 145A, 145B, 146A, and 146B. Capsule 6A was removed from the test train following Cycle 145A and replaced with Capsule 6B. This report documents the as-run physics analysis in support of Post-Irradiation Examination (PIE) of the test. This report documents the as-run fluence and displacements per atom (DPA) for each capsule of the experiment based on as-run operating history of the ATR. Average as-run heating rates for each capsule are also presented in this report to support the thermal analysis.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2015

Results and Analysis of the Infrastructure Request for Information (DE-SOL-0008318)

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) released a request for information (RFI) (DE-SOL-0008318) for “University, National Laboratory, Industry and International Input on Potential Office of Nuclear Energy Infrastructure Investments” on April 13, 2015. DOE-NE solicited information on five specific types of capabilities as well as any others suggested by the community. The RFI proposal period closed on June 19, 2015. From the 26 responses, 34 individual proposals were extracted. Eighteen were associated with a DOE national laboratory, including Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Sandia National Laboratory (SNL). Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) was referenced in a proposal as a proposed capability location, although the proposal did not originate with ORNL. Five US universities submitted proposals (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Pennsylvania State University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Houston and the University of Michigan). Three industrial/commercial institutions submitted proposals (AREVA NP, Babcock and Wilcox (B&W) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)). Eight major themes emerged from the submissions as areas needing additional capability or support for existing capabilities. Two submissions supported multiple areas. The major themes are: Advanced Manufacturing (AM), High Performance Computing (HPC), Ion Irradiation with X-Ray Diagnostics (IIX), Ion Irradiation with TEM Visualization (IIT), Radiochemistry Laboratories (RCL), Test Reactors, Neutron Sources and Critical Facilities (RX) , Sample Preparation and Post-Irradiation Examination (PIE) and Thermal-Hydraulics Test Facilities (THF).

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2016

AGR-3/4 Irradiation Test Train Disassembly and Component Metrology First Look Report

The AGR-3/4 experiment was designed to study fission product transport within graphitic matrix material and nuclear-grade graphite. To this end, this experiment consisted of 12 capsules, each fueled with 4 compacts containing UCO TRISO particles as driver fuel and 20 UCO designed-to-fail (DTF) fuel particles in each compact. The DTF fuel was fabricated with a thin pyrocarbon layer which was intended to fail during irradiation and provide a source of fission products. These fission products could then migrate through the compact and into the surrounding concentric rings of graphitic matrix material and/or nuclear graphite. Through post-irradiation examination (PIE) of the rings (including physical sampling and gamma scanning) fission product concentration profiles within the rings can be determined. These data can be used to elucidate fission product transport parameters (e.g. diffusion coefficients within the test materials) which will be used to inform and refine models of fission product transport. After irradiation in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) had been completed in April 2014, the AGR-3/4 experiment was shipped to the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF) at the Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) for inspection, disassembly, and metrology. The AGR-3/4 test train was received at MFC in two separate shipments between February and April 2015. Visual examinations of the test train exterior did not indicate dimensional distortion, and only two small discolored areas were observed at the bottom of Capsules 8 and 9. No corresponding discoloration was found on the inside of these capsules, however. Prior to disassembly, the two test train sections were subject to analysis via the Precision Gamma Scanner (PGS), which did not indicate that any gross fuel relocation had occurred. A series of specialized tools (including clamps, cutters, and drills) had been designed and fabricated in order to carry out test train disassembly and recovery of capsule components (graphite rings and fuel compacts). This equipment performed well for separating each capsule in the test train and extracting the capsule components. Only a few problems were encountered. In one case, the outermost ring (the sink ring) was cracked during removal of the capsule through tubes. Although the sink ring will be analyzed in order to obtain a mass balance of fission products in the experiment, these cracks do not pose a major concern because the sink ring will not be analyzed in detail to obtain the spatial distribution of fission products. In Capsules 4 and 5, the compacts could not be removed from the inner rings. Strategies for removing the compacts are being evaluated. Sampling the inner rings with the compacts in-place is also an option. Dimensional measurements were made on the compacts, inner rings, outer rings, and sink rings. The diameters of all compacts decreased by 0.5 to 2.0 %. Generally, the extent of diametric shrinkage increased linearly with increasing neutron fluence. Most compact lengths also decreased. Compact lengths decreased with increasing fluence, reaching maximum shrinkage of about 0.9 % at a fast fluence of 4.0x10 25 n/m 2 E > 0.18 MeV. Above this fluence, the extent of length shrinkage appeared to decrease with fluence, and two compacts from Capsule 7 were found to have slightly increased in length (< 0.1 %) after a fluence of 5.2x10 25 n/m 2 .

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Status of FeCrAl ODS Irradiations in the High Flux Isotope Reactor

FeCrAl oxide-dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloys are an attractive sub-set alloy class of the more global FeCrAl material class for nuclear applications due to their high-temperature steam oxidation resistance and hypothesized enhanced radiation tolerance. A need currently exists to determine the radiation tolerance of these newly developed alloys. To address this need, a preliminary study was conducted using the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) to irradiate an early generation FeCrAl ODS alloy, 125YF. Preliminary post-irradiation examination (PIE) on these irradiated specimens have shown good radiation tolerance at elevated temperatures (≥330°C) but possible radiation-induced hardening and embrittlement at irradiations of 200°C to a damage level of 1.9 displacement per atom (dpa). Building on this experience, a new series of irradiations are currently being conceptualized. This irradiation series called the FCAD irradiation program will irradiate the latest generation FeCrAl ODS and FeCr ODS alloys to significantly higher doses. These experiments will provide the necessary information to determine the mechanical performance of irradiated FeCrAl ODS alloys at light water reactor and fast reactor conditions.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗