Modern nanostructured ferritic alloys: A compelling and viable choice for sodium fast reactor fuel cladding applications

Sodium fast reactor cores present a truly challenging environment for the fuel cladding and core structural materials that limit achievable fuel burnup in these systems. Modern nanostructured ferritic alloys have the potential to deliver the desired high performance characteristics where historic au...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of nuclear materials 2020-02, Vol.529 (C), p.151928, Article 151928
Main Authors: Hoelzer, D.T., Massey, C.P., Zinkle, S.J., Crawford, D.C., Terrani, K.A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alloy systems
Alloys
Cladding
Creep strength
Ferritic stainless steels
Irradiation
Martensitic stainless steels
Nanostructure
Nanostructured ferritic alloy
Nuclear fuels
OFRAC
Radiation
Reactor cores
Reactors
Sodium
Sodium cooled reactors
Sodium fast reactor
Strain rate
Tensile and creep properties
Thin wall tubing
Ultimate tensile strength
Viability
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Summary:Sodium fast reactor cores present a truly challenging environment for the fuel cladding and core structural materials that limit achievable fuel burnup in these systems. Modern nanostructured ferritic alloys have the potential to deliver the desired high performance characteristics where historic austenitic and ferritic/martensitic alloys fall short. In this paper, a new nanostructured ferritic alloy, OFRAC (Oak Ridge Fast Reactor Advanced Fuel Cladding), is developed and demonstrated in cladding geometry with a length > 1 m. The alloy composition and microstructure are tailored to deliver dramatically improved strength and creep resistance. At 600 °C the ultimate tensile strength is ∼600 MPa and the stress to induce a steady state strain rate of 10−6 s−1 is 500 MPa vs. 200 MPa for traditional ferritic/martensitic alloys. A very high defect sink density was engineered in these alloys that is expected to further enhance the traditional good swelling and irradiation creep resistance of ferritic/martensitic steels. These significant improvements along with the demonstrated viability for seamless cladding production indicate that this alloy is a compelling and viable choice for sodium fast reactor fuel cladding applications.
ISSN:0022-3115
1873-4820
DOI:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.151928