About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
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Special Topics in Nuclear Materials: Reproducibility and Uncertainty; Hydrogen Effects; Space and Microreactor Systems
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| Presentation Title |
Degradation of Yttrium and Zirconium Hydrides Under Irradiation in the MIT Reactor |
| Author(s) |
Sean Fayfar, David Sprouster, Yina Huang, Maren Johnston, Nesrin Cetiner, Boris Khaykovich, Koroush Shirvan, Lance Snead |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Sean Fayfar |
| Abstract Scope |
Yttrium and zirconium hydrides are promising candidate materials for use as advanced moderators in compact nuclear reactors. To evaluate their stability under irradiation, we conducted in-core irradiations at the MIT Reactor while keeping the rods exposed to a temperature gradient for two reactor cycles. Following irradiation, the rods were sectioned along their length and prepared for post-irradiation examination. We employed neutron imaging, a technique uniquely sensitive to hydrogen within materials, to detect potential hydrogen loss or redistribution. The yttrium hydride samples exhibited excellent stability with no detectable hydrogen loss, while the zirconium hydride samples showed evidence of hydrogen depletion at the surface. In this talk, I will present the irradiation and post-irradiation capabilities at MITR and our findings on hydrogen behavior in irradiated metal hydrides. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Nuclear Materials, Characterization, |