Douglas L. Porter

Sodium Fast Reactor Fuels and Materials: Research Needs.

An expert panel was assembled to identify gaps in fuels and materials research prior to licensing sodium cooled fast reactor (SFR) design. The expert panel considered both metal and oxide fuels, various cladding and duct materials, structural materials, fuel performance codes, fabrication capability and records, and transient behavior of fuel types. A methodology was developed to rate the relative importance of phenomena and properties both as to importance to a regulatory body and the maturity of the technology base. The technology base for fuels and cladding was divided into three regimes: information of high maturity under conservative operating conditions, information of low maturity under more aggressive operating conditions, and future design expectations where meager data exist.

The Role of Grain Size on Neutron Irradiation Response of Nanocrystalline Copper

The role of grain size on the developed microstructure and mechanical properties of neutron irradiated nanocrystalline copper was investigated by comparing the radiation response of material to the conventional micrograined counterpart. Nanocrystalline (nc) and micrograined (MG) copper samples were subjected to a range of neutron exposure levels from 0.0034 to 2 dpa. At all damage levels, the response of MG-copper was governed by radiation hardening manifested by an increase in strength with accompanying ductility loss. Conversely, the response of nc-copper to neutron irradiation exhibited a dependence on the damage level. At low damage levels, grain growth was the primary response, with radiation hardening and embrittlement becoming the dominant responses with increasing damage levels. Annealing experiments revealed that grain growth in nc-copper is composed of both thermally-activated and irradiation-induced components. Tensile tests revealed minimal change in the source hardening component of the yield stress in MG-copper, while the source hardening component was found to decrease with increasing radiation exposure in nc-copper.

Sodium fast reactor safety and licensing research plan. Volume II.

Expert panels comprised of subject matter experts identified at the U.S. National Laboratories (SNL, ANL, INL, ORNL, LBL, and BNL), universities (University of Wisconsin and Ohio State University), international agencies (IRSN, CEA, JAEA, KAERI, and JRC-IE) and private consultation companies (Radiation Effects Consulting) were assembled to perform a gap analysis for sodium fast reactor licensing. Expert-opinion elicitation was performed to qualitatively assess the current state of sodium fast reactor technologies. Five independent gap analyses were performed resulting in the following topical reports: (1) Accident Initiators and Sequences (i.e., Initiators/Sequences Technology Gap Analysis), (2) Sodium Technology Phenomena (i.e., Advanced Burner Reactor Sodium Technology Gap Analysis), (3) Fuels and Materials (i.e., Sodium Fast Reactor Fuels and Materials: Research Needs), (4) Source Term Characterization (i.e., Advanced Sodium Fast Reactor Accident Source Terms: Research Needs), and (5) Computer Codes and Models (i.e., Sodium Fast Reactor Gaps Analysis of Computer Codes and Models for Accident Analysis and Reactor Safety). Volume II of the Sodium Research Plan consolidates the five gap analysis reports produced by each expert panel, wherein the importance of the identified phenomena and necessities of further experimental research and code development were addressed. The findings from these five reports comprised the basis for the analysis in Sodium Fast Reactor Research Plan Volume I.

Report to the DOE on the “Crud II” project

This report documents SEM, TEM, and chemical analyses from crud samples from a commercially operating reactor.

AFC-1 Transmutation Fuels Post-Irradiation Hot Cell Examination 4-8 at.% - Final Report (Irradiation Experiments AFC-1B, -1F and -1Æ)

The AFC-1B, AFC-1F and AFC-1AE irradiation tests are part of a series of test irradiations designed to evaluate the feasibility of the use of actinide bearing fuel forms in advanced fuel cycles for the transmutation of transuranic elements from nuclear waste. The tests were irradiated in the Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL) Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) to an intermediate burnup of 4 to 8 at% (2.7 - 6.8 x 1020 fiss/cm3). The tests contain metallic and nitride fuel forms with non-fertile (i.e., no uranium) and low-fertile (i.e., uranium bearing) compositions. Results of postirradiation hot cell examinations of AFC-1 irradiation tests are reported for eleven metallic alloy transmutation fuel rodlets and five nitride transmutation fuel rodlets. Non-destructive examinations included visual examination, dimensional inspection, gamma scan analysis, and neutron radiography. Detailed examinations, including fission gas puncture and analysis, metallography / ceramography and isotopics and burnup analyses, were performed on five metallic alloy and three nitride transmutation fuels. Fuel performance of both metallic alloy and nitride fuel forms was best correlated with fission density as a burnup metric rather than at.% depletion. The actinide bearing transmutation metallic alloy compositions exhibit irradiation performance very similar to U-xPu-10Zr fuel at equivalent fission densities. The irradiation performance morexa0» of nitride transmutation fuels was comparable to limited data published on mixed nitride systems. «xa0less

JAEA Fatigue Analysis of EBR-II Duplex Tubing

This work addresses questions brought up concerning the mechanisms associated with fatigue crack growth retardation and/or arrest within the nickel bond layer in duplex 2¼ Cr-1Mo steel superheater tubes. Previous work performed at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) indicated that the nickel bond layer did not function as a crack arrestor during fatigue crack propagation with the exception of one, isolated case involving an exceptionally low fatigue load and a high temperature (400 0C) environment. Since it is atypical for a fatigue crack to propagate from a relatively soft material (the nickel bond layer) to a harder material (the 2¼ Cr-1Mo steel) there has been speculation that the nickel bond layer was hardened in service. Additionally, there are questions surrounding the nature of the fatigue crack propagation within the nickel bond layer; specifically with regard to the presence of voids seen on micrographs of the bond layer and oxidation within the steel along the edge of the nickel bond layer. There is uncertainty as to the effect of these voids and/or oxide barriers with respect to potential fatigue crack arrest.