| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2024 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Seaborg Institutes: Emerging Topics in Actinide Materials and Science
|
| Presentation Title |
Molten Salt and Cerium Driven Corrosion and Embrittlement of Refractory Metals |
| Author(s) |
Elise Shauf, Stephan Raiman |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Elise Shauf |
| Abstract Scope |
Refractory metals are commonly used in plutonium pyrometallurgy due to their characteristic properties. However, equipment failures can occur during pyrometallurgical processing. These failures are hypothesized to be caused by corrosion and/or embrittlement mechanisms by the plutonium metal itself or the chloride salt present in the process.
To investigate the failure mechanisms, refractory materials were exposed to liquid cerium, a plutonium surrogate, and molten chloride salts. Cerium was added at temperatures up to 850℃, and the samples were then strained to failure to measure how exposure affected their mechanical properties. Samples were characterized to investigate the infiltration of cerium and/or salt into the samples and determine how the materials’ microstructures affected it.
This work will provide new insights into failure of tantalum, tungsten, and their alloys during pyroprocessing in chloride salt. Future work will include developing various manufacturing methods to improve the longevity and durability of the refractory metal alloys. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Nuclear Materials, Characterization, Pyrometallurgy |