Abstract
The safety of the accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) cladding candidates, must be assessed under simulated conditions of the loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). During LOCA, the temperature of the cladding and the internal pressure of the fuel rods increase under an oxidizing steam environment. Under these conditions, the cladding experiences mechanical loading due to the internal pressurization, which eventually causes tube burst before quenching. Simulated LOCA tests use 12-inch-long tube segments which are inconvenient for the irradiated ATF cladding candidate of FeCrAl alloys due to the high radiation doses. Therefore, it is useful to reduce specimen size. This study investigates the effect of tube specimen length on burst behavior of the FeCrAl tubes using the severe accident testing system (SATS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Specimens of various lengths were subjected to heating experiments until the burst occurred. Specimen surfaces were engraved for strain measurements after the burst, and the tube length effect on the failure behavior of the FeCrAl alloys were investigated by comparing samples of different lengths. Results are interpreted based on changes in the tubes' burst characteristics.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 512-515 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| State | Published - 2020 |
| Event | 14th International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Conference, GLOBAL 2019 and Light Water Reactor Fuel Performance Conference, TOP FUEL 2019 - Seattle, United States Duration: Sep 22 2019 → Sep 27 2019 |
Conference
| Conference | 14th International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Conference, GLOBAL 2019 and Light Water Reactor Fuel Performance Conference, TOP FUEL 2019 |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | United States |
| City | Seattle |
| Period | 09/22/19 → 09/27/19 |
Funding
This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan). We would like to acknowledge Bruce Pint at ORNL for the SATS and microscope facilities.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| US Department of Energy | |
| U.S. Department of Energy | |
| Oak Ridge National Laboratory |