Composite Materials for Nuclear Applications II: SiC/SiC for Fission and Fusion
Sponsored by: TMS Structural Materials Division, TMS: Nuclear Materials Committee, TMS: Composite Materials Committee, TMS: Mechanical Behavior of Materials Committee, TMS: Advanced Characterization, Testing, and Simulation Committee
Program Organizers: Anne Campbell, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Dong Liu, University of Oxford; Rick Ubic, Boise State University; Lauren Garrison, Commonwealth Fusion Systems; Peng Xu, Idaho National Laboratory; Johann Riesch, Max-Planck-Insitut Fuer Plasmaphysik
Monday 8:30 AM
March 20, 2023
Room: 24B
Location: SDCC
Session Chair: Anne Campbell, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Peng Xu, Idaho National Laboratory
8:30 AM Invited
Status Update on Framatome PROtect ATF Solutions: Cr-coated M5Framatome and SiCf/SiC Cladding Designs: Matthieu Aumand1; Kiran Nimishakavi1; Elmar Schweitzer1; Karl Buchanan1; Claire Verdon1; Thorsten Marlaud1; 1Framatome
Following the Fukushima-Daiichi accident in 2011, efforts have been made by the nuclear industry to develop solutions that enhance the accident tolerance of nuclear reactors. Framatome PROtect Enhanced Accident Tolerant Fuel (E-ATF) development program focuses on a two-phased approach balancing each solution’s benefits with speed to market. The first phase focuses on a near-term evolutionary solution: Cr-coated M5Framatome cladding and Cr2O3-doped UO2 fuel. This solution improves safety and fuel cycle economics while targeting reload insertion in mid-2020s. The second phase focuses on a long-term revolutionary solution: Silicon carbide composite (SiCf/SiC) cladding, which offers drastic performance improvements during beyond design basis accidents. A general status update on Framatome’s Cr-coated M5Framatome and SiCf/SiC cladding designs will be presented.PROtect and M5Framatome are trademarks or registered trademarks of Framatome or its affiliates, in the USA or other countries
9:00 AM
Characterization of Defects Generated from Thermal Stresses in SiC/SiC Composites: David Arregui-Mena1; Takaaki Koyanagi1; Yutai Katoh1; 1Oak Ridge National Laboratory
SiC/SiC composites are candidate materials for fuel cladding of Light Water Reactors (LWRs). Thermal stresses, the reactor environment as well as dimensional changes induce defects that contribute to the drop in properties of SiC/SiC composites. This research comprehensively analyzes the influence of defects generated from thermal stresses via x-ray computed tomography (XCT) and FIB-SEM tomography. These results were part of a neutron irradiation campaign that aimed to simulate temperature gradients similar to what is expected during LWR operation. XCT data shows the defects induced by thermal gradients, whereas the FIB-SEM tomography illustrates the defects localized around the interfaces of the materials. These results identify and quantify which features or defects contribute more to the possible reduction of thermomechanical properties of SiC/SiC cladding.
9:20 AM Cancelled
Advanced Modeling for use in Accelerate Fuel Qualification of Silicon Carbide Composite Cladding: Joel Kosmatka1; Nicholas Truong1; Herb Shatoff1; George Jacobsen1; 1General Atomics
Silicon carbide (SiC) ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) hold significant promise for future use as nuclear fuel cladding material. Due to the technical and logistical challenges of collecting empirical irradiation performance data, accurately modeling the thermo-mechanical-irradiation behavior of this material is critical to accelerate qualification and adoption of SiC CMCs. General Atomics has developed a suite of models predicting 1-D SiC cladding thermomechanical performance, clad bowing, and fuel performance which will be validated in planned INL Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) irradiations. GA has updated its 1D MATLAB code to capture the effects of microcrack formation and propagation dominating ceramic composite post-PLS behavior. Progress towards a mechanistic, microstructure-informed and predictive surrogate model using ANSYS, BISON, and custom code will be reported. The framework for coupling these models with targeted experimental testing to support Accelerated Fuel Qualification (AFQ) methodology will be discussed.
9:40 AM
Development of SiCf/SiC Composite Materials for Fusion Applications: Alexander Leide1; Max Rigby-Bell1; Slava Kuksenko1; James Wade-Zhu1; David Bowden1; 1United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
SiC/SiC is beneficial in many high-temperature applications and has been developed for aerospace and nuclear fission fuel cladding. For fusion, the challenges are different, including enhanced transmutation compared to fission, and very high radiation damage doses. The blanket environment also includes corrosive liquid metal coolants and breeders, although mechanical stresses are modest compared to aerospace and fission cladding. This presentation will give an overview of SiC/SiC development at UKAEA including fusion-relevant irradiations to replicate transmutation production, and liquid metal corrosion. Results of micromechanical testing, radiation damage observed using TEM and Raman microscopy, and macroscopic mechanical testing will be covered. This leads into progress on developing “fusion grade” composites tailored to this environment including novel interphases and coatings.
10:00 AM Break
10:20 AM Invited
Next-generation Nuclear Grade Composite Components: Sean Gonderman1; George Jacobsen1; Ivan Ivanov1; Lucas Borowski1; Rolf Haefelfinger1; Christian Deck1; Jack Gazza1; Hesham Khalifa1; 1General Atomics
Advanced composite materials can provide substantial benefits to nuclear systems for terrestrial power generation and nuclear thermal propulsion. In pursuit of these opportunities, substantial progress in fabricating ceramic matrix composites as well as low-cost composite constituent materials for in-core applications have been made. Specifically, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems is continuing to development of SiGAź composite technology, an engineered SiC fiber reinforced, SiC matrix (SiC-SiC) composite. A key application of SiGAź technology is nuclear fuel cladding for light water reactors and other in-core components to deliver improved normal operational performance and enhanced safety. Improvements to cladding length capacity, fabrication throughput, and performance testing have been achieved. Additionally, ongoing modeling development is being employed to better capture in-operation stresses and subsequent SiGAź cladding response, complementing the experimental program. These advances are preparing SiGAź cladding for upcoming/ongoing reactor irradiations at a commercial nuclear power plant and Idaho National Lab’s Advanced Test Reactor.
10:50 AM
Development and Evaluation of Dual-purpose Coating to SiC/SiC Composite Accident-tolerant Fuel Cladding for Light Water Reactors: Yutai Katoh1; Takaaki Koyanagi1; Peter Mouche1; 1Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Silicon carbide (SiC/SiC) composite-based fuel cladding continues being an accident-tolerant fuel technology concept for both light water reactors (LWR) and advanced fission energy systems for the exceptional high temperature capability, slow kinetics of steam oxidation, and the insensitivity of mechanical properties and fracture behavior to neutron irradiation. However, to protect SiC from radiation-assisted corrosion in the normal chemistry boiling water reactor coolant and to secure sufficiently low probability of cracking failure due to a stress build-up during the fuel operations, a dual-purpose coating (environmental barrier and hermeticity) may be necessary. In this paper, development of the dual-purpose coating technologies and the recent results from evaluation (including the effects of neutron irradiation) of selected coatings are presented, followed by discussion on the updated path-forward for the technology development and associated opportunities for materials science.
11:10 AM
Mechanistic Understanding of Hydrothermal Corrosion of SiC Under Irradiation: Peng Wang1; Gary Was1; 1University of Michigan
SiC-SiC composite materials are of growing interest for accident tolerant fuel cladding applications due to their excellent physical and mechanical properties that are desirable for high-temperature environments and under intense radiation conditions. However, under normal operation conditions, hydrothermal corrosion of SiC has been a concern in the light water reactor environment where continuous dissolution of SiC into the water was accelerated under the influence of water radiolysis and irradiation. An in-situ irradiation-corrosion experiment on 3C-SiC using proton beam has demonstrated that hydrothermal corrosion of SiC in high-temperature water depends strongly on both the corrosion potential and irradiation. Corrosion of SiC in water was also studied using ab initio molecular dynamic (AIMD) to elucidate the atomic-scale corrosion mechanism.
11:30 AM
Stress Rupture of SiC/SiC Composite Tubes Under High-temperature Steam: Implications for Resistance to Light Water Reactor Accident: Takaaki Koyanagi1; Omer Karakoc1; Charles Hawkins1; Edgar Lara-Curzio1; Yutai Katoh1; 1Oak Ridge National Laboratory
SiC fiber–reinforced SiC matrix composite cladding for light water reactors must withstand high-temperature steam oxidation in a loss-of-coolant accident scenario (LOCA). Currently, it is not well characterized how the composite would behave under high-temperature steam when the carbon interphases and SiC fibers are exposed to the environment. We report results from stress rupture tests of prototypic SiC composite cladding at 1,000°C under steam and inert environments. The applied stress was beyond the initial cracking stress. The failure life under steam was shorter than the life under an inert environment, where 75% of the specimens did not fail after three hours of total exposure under inert gases. Microstructural observations suggest that steam oxidation activated slow crack growth in the fibers, which led to failure of the composite. The results from this study suggest that stress rupture in steam environments could be a limiting factor of the cladding under reactor LOCA conditions.
11:50 AM
Microstructure and Mechanical Behavior of Cr Coatings for Mitigating Hydrothermal Corrosion of SiC-SiCf Fuel Cladding: Kyle Quillin1; Hwasung Yeom1; Tyler Dabney1; Evan Willing1; David Frazer2; Lingfeng He2; Laura Jamison3; Kumar Sridharan1; 1University of Wisconsin-Madison; 2Idaho National Laboratory; 3Argonne National Laboratory
Pure Cr coatings are under investigation to mitigate hydrothermal corrosion of SiC-SiCf for its potential use as cladding material in light water reactors. Coatings ~5 ”m thick have been deposited using a variety of state-of-the-art physical vapor deposition technologies including direct current and high-power impulse magnetron sputtering methods. TEM has been used to investigate the effect of deposition parameters (e.g., pulsing, power density, ion bombardment) on the coating structure and nanoscale atomic mixing effects at the Cr/SiC interface. Nanoindentation testing was conducted to measure mechanical properties of the coatings. Microscopy performed after indentation provides details on the deformation behavior of different coating microstructures. Other in situ micromechanical tests have been conducted to study deformation behavior within the coatings and at the Cr/SiC interface. Based on these results, we identify the coatings that possess the optimal microstructure and mechanical properties for application on SiC-SiCf fuel cladding.