About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
Materials in Nuclear Energy Systems (MiNES) 2025
|
| Symposium
|
Materials in Nuclear Energy Systems (MiNES) 2025
|
| Presentation Title |
Assessing Pathways to Mitigate Irradiation Induced Hardening & Embrittlement Within the FeCrAl Alloy System |
| Author(s) |
Caleb Massey, Jesse Werden, Yukinori Yamamoto, Anthony Guajardo, David Collins, Annabelle Le Coq, Kory Linton |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Caleb Massey |
| Abstract Scope |
FeCrAl alloys are currently being evaluated as an accident-tolerant fuel cladding alternative to existing Zr-based alloys in the current fleet of boiling water reactors (BWRs). This alloy system has shown to be resilient in simulated loss-of-coolant accident scenarios due to its higher strength and steam oxidation resistance in comparison to Zircaloy. However, wrought variants of FeCrAl alloys evaluated to date have shown severe irradiation-induced hardening and embrittlement following neutron irradiation at lower temperatures (< 350C). Although recent results have shown that high-sink strength variants of FeCrAl alloys, such as those with intrinsic nanoscale oxide dispersions, can reduce ductility loss following irradiation at BWR-relevant operating conditions, it is less clear how other changes, such as the use of powder-metallurgy, can affect the kinetics associated with hardening/embrittlement. In addition, new face-centered cubic alumina-forming FeCrAl alloys, termed alumina forming austenitic alloys (AFAs), have also been considered as a potential candidate to alleviate the embrittlement associated with the body-centered-cubic FeCrAl variants. To assess the compositional and processing-related effects on the retained ductility of FeCrAl alloys, wrought and powder-metallurgical FeCrAl alloys were irradiated alongside AFA’s at light water reactor-relevant temperatures (~315C) to doses of 2 and 8 displacements per atom within the High Flux Isotope Reactor. Following irradiation, fracture toughness and tensile tests were completed to assess the retained ductility and crack-resistance of each of these potential cladding candidates. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Undecided |