| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
Materials Science & Technology 2020
|
| Symposium
|
Advanced Characterization of Materials for Nuclear, Radiation, and Extreme Environments
|
| Presentation Title |
Development of an In-Situ Mechanical Test System for Advanced Reactor Coolants |
| Author(s) |
Jake Quincey, Peter Beck, Josef Parrington, Lars Parrington, Christopher Lamb, Henry Korellis, Pit Schulze, Alan Kruizenga, Micah Hackett, George Young, Julie Tucker, Samuel Briggs |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Jake Quincey |
| Abstract Scope |
Advanced reactor coolants such as liquid sodium and molten salts pose unique obstacles for test systems designed to study environmentally assisted cracking (EAC). Challenges with in-situ testing include high temperature operation with simultaneous coolant chemistry control, all while necessitating access to the sample for real-time load control and monitoring of crack initiation and growth. The present work has developed an in-situ mechanical test system that addresses these issues and is capable of state-of-the-art, fracture mechanics-based EAC testing in liquid sodium and molten salt coolant environments. This test system is constructed from stainless steel to minimize dissimilar metal contact, enables electrical isolation of the test sample for potential drop monitoring of cracking, and utilizes a novel pumped ‘cold leg’ to prevent excessive corrosion product buildup in the coolant. The key features of the system and initial results from testing in FLiNaK will be described. |