Accelerated Discovery and Qualification of Nuclear Materials for Energy Applications: Challenges and Recent Progresses and in Nuclear Fuels and Materials Development
Sponsored by: TMS Structural Materials Division, TMS Materials Processing and Manufacturing Division, TMS: Integrated Computational Materials Engineering Committee, TMS: Nuclear Materials Committee, TMS: Additive Manufacturing Committee
Program Organizers: Yongfeng Zhang, University of Wisconsin; Adrien Couet, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Michael Tonks, University of Florida; Jeffery Aguiar, Lockheed Martin; Andrea Jokisaari, Idaho National Laboratory; Karim Ahmed, Texas A&M University
Tuesday 8:30 AM
March 16, 2021
Room: RM 48
Location: TMS2021 Virtual
Session Chair: Tyler Gerczak , Oak Ridge National Laboratory ; Robert Roach, Idaho National Laboratory
8:30 AM Invited
Materials Selection in Nuclear Applications a Challenge and an Opportunity for Advanced Material Design, Fabrication and Testing: Peter Hosemann1; Bernd Gludovatz2; Edward Obbard2; Michael Moschetti2; Ashley Reichardt1; Stuart Maloy3; 1University of California Berkeley; 2UNSW Sydney; 3Los Alamos National Laboratory
Nuclear applications, especially advanced nuclear, are among the most challenging environments for materials. Stress, temperature, time, nuclear properties and radiation damage all are required boundary conditions a material needs to fulfill in order to be useful in a nuclear application. These restrictions limit the design space of materials, especially considering nuclear properties in addition to the physical properties. Additive Manufacturing allows for near net shape fabrication of engineering structures while also changing the material on a single component reducing the need for conventional dissimilar joints. In this presentation we show examples of chemically graded components and thermodynamic modeling prediction of expected phases as well as expand the grading approach towards heat treatment to tailor the microstructure as needed. The combinations of modeling, and printing graded materials provide an alternative to address some of the materials selection challenges.
9:00 AM
High power irradiation testing of TRISO MiniFuel-Compacts in HFIR: Tyler Gerczak1; Christian Petrie1; Jason Harp1; Grant Helmreich1; John Hunn1; Andrew Kercher1; Zane Wallen1; Ryan Gallagher1; Kory Linton1; Annabelle Le Coq1; Ryan Latta2; Blaise Collin2; Nicholas Brown3; 1Oak Ridge National Laboratory; 2Kairos Power; 3University of Tennessee
The TRISO coated particle fuel form has evolved to meet the needs of HTGRs, however, the TRISO fuel form can be adapted to other advanced reactor designs such as Kairos Power’s FHR. The heat transfer properties of molten salt in the FHR allow for high-power densities relative to typical HTGR designs. A higher power density core presents numerous benefits such as reduced core size and capital cost reduction. Higher power densities reflect a higher TRISO particle power relative to those typically experienced in HTGRs. An irradiation campaign is being pursued in the HFIR based on the MiniFuel concept to explore the performance of TRISO particles at higher particle powers. The irradiation experiment, MiniFuel-Compact fabrication, and post-irradiation test plan will be discussed.
9:20 AM Invited
Qualification of 316L Stainless Steel Components for ASME Pressure Retaining Applications: David Gandy1; Marc Albert1; Stephen Tate1; Clint Armstrong2; William Cleary2; 1Electric Power Research Institute; 2Westinghouse Electric Corporation
Under US DOE project DE-NE0008521, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Westinghouse Electric Corporation have recently submitted an ASME Code Case and Data Package focused on 316L stainless steel manufactured by the laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing process. If approved, the Code Case will for the first time allow additive manufacturing of pressure retaining components to be produced for nuclear applications under ASME BPV-III, Division 1 – Subsections NB/NC/ND, Class 1, 2, and 3. This paper covers the data package submitted to ASME BPV-III MF&E and discusses the relevance of applicable elements of the data package and Code Case. Pertinent information addressed includes: component build parameters, heat treatment, mechanical and microstructural properties, weldment-, inspection- and fatigue data, and proposed allowable stresses.
9:50 AM Invited
Overview of Nuclear Materials Discovery and Qualification Initiative (NMDQi): Robert Roach1; 1Idaho National Laboratory
The Nuclear Materials Discovery and Qualification Initiative (NMDQi) is a program launched in 2020 to address the need for development of new nuclear materials on shorter timelines. The NMDQi has a goal to accelerate nuclear materials qualification to fulfill the promises of early and advanced reactor technologies as a safe, clean, and low-cost baseload energy. Materials development and qualification in the nuclear industry is by definition challenging due to stringent safety requirements, limited availability of specialized facilities for materials irradiation and testing, and the challenging high-temperature, high-radiation environment. Outside the nuclear industry, options exist for increasing the efficiency and rate of materials discovery for accelerated technology commercialization, which can also be applied for our use through the NMDQi. Focus will be on generating tools and capabilities that integrate experimental and computational techniques, allowing materials to be selected prior to fabrication, and providing crucial data to improve upon modeling.
10:20 AM
Development and Qualification of Ultrafine-grained and Nanocrystalline Steels for Nuclear Applications: Haiming Wen1; Andrew Hoffman1; Maalavan Arivu1; Rinat Islamgaliev2; 1Missouri University of Science and Technology; 2Ufa State Aviation Technical University
Bulk ultrafine-grained and nanocrystalline metals possess drastically higher strength than their conventional coarse-grained counterparts, and are anticipated to have significantly enhanced irradiation tolerance owing to the role of grain boundaries as sinks for irradiation-induced defects. In this study, ultrafine-grained and nanocrystalline austenitic and ferritic-martenstic steels were manufactured by equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) and high-pressure torsion (HPT), respectively. The microstructure and mechanical behavior of these steels were carefully studied. Advanced microstructural characterization techniques were utilized to investigate the microstructures and chemistry of the steels before irradiation. The thermal stability of the ultrafine-grained and nanocrystalline steels was also investigated. Neutron and ion irradiations were performed to study irradiation behavior. Results indicated that the ultrafine-grained and nanocrystalline steels manufactured by ECAP and HPT possess significantly improved hardness/strength and enhanced phase stability during irradiation, compared to their coarse-grained counterparts. Smaller grains possess reduced irradiation-induced hardening, segregation and precipitation compared to larger grains.
10:40 AM
Development of Assembly Technique for Fuel Specimens for the MARCH-SERTTA TREAT Irradiation Testing Platform: Connor Woolum1; Lance Hone1; Korbin Tritthart1; 1Idaho National Laboratory
The MARCH-SERTTA capsule is the latest irradiation testing platform being commissioned for irradiation testing within the TREAT reactor at INL. This capsule is designed to include a suite of seventeen instruments allowing for different measurements and controls prior to, during, and after transient testing. The MARCH-SERTTA platform is versatile in that the existing design can be modified in any number of ways to accommodate different types of tests or specimen geometries, thus allowing for rapid turnaround of irradiation experiments. This platform is currently being commissioned through a series of five TREAT irradiations. The fuel specimens within these tests include prototypical PWR fuel in a six inch specimen, instrumented with four thermocouples on the cladding surface. A significant amount of development work was required to produce an acceptable specimen; this manuscript focuses on this work associated with rodlet assembly, welding, and thermocouples attachment.