Mechanical response of HFIR-irradiated M5Framatome cladding under simple and complex loading conditions

M. Nedim Cinbiz; Hong Wang; Benton Garrison; Kory Linton; Paul Cantonwine; Matthieu Aumand

doi:10.13182/TOPFUEL25-48081

Mechanical response of HFIR-irradiated M5_Framatome cladding under simple and complex loading conditions

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

Abstract

This study investigates the mechanical behavior of High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) irradiated M5_Framatome cladding under simple and complex loading conditions through axial tensile and reversible cyclic bending. Axial tension specimens were pre-machined prior to HFIR irradiation while cyclic bend specimens were inserted as intact tubes. Tests articles were neutron-irradiated to 4 and 16 dpa, and specimens were tested at ORNL's hotcell facilities. The axial tension tests were conducted under constant displacement control, and the reversible cyclic bend tests were performed using ORNL's Cyclic Integrated Reversible-Bending Fatigue Tester (CIRFT) apparatus. Results showed that mechanical response of Cr-coated and uncoated M5_Framatome cladding were similar and independent of irradiation dose for axial tension tests, while Cr-coated specimens' reversible cyclic bend behavior differed from uncoated counterparts. For all tests, irradiation temperature showed a significant impact on the mechanical behavior. Below 280°C, all axial tensile specimens whether coated or not behaved similarly. Above 280°C, YS and UTS showed decrease with increasing irradiation temperature. A similar behavior was also observed in cyclic bend tests as well. The mechanical damage during cyclic bend tests was linked to damage accumulation in unirradiated Cr-coated zircaloy-4 specimens, and the effect of irradiation temperature was related to changing characteristics of defect mobility during high temperature irradiation.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings of the TopFuel 2025
Subtitle of host publication	Nuclear Reactor Fuel Performance Conference
Publisher	American Nuclear Society
Pages	522-531
Number of pages	10
ISBN (Electronic)	9780894482281
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.13182/TOPFUEL25-48081
State	Published - 2025
Event	TopFuel 2025: Nuclear Reactor Fuel Performance Conference - Nashville, United States Duration: Oct 5 2025 → Oct 9 2025

Publication series

Name	Proceedings of the TopFuel 2025: Nuclear Reactor Fuel Performance Conference

Conference

Conference	TopFuel 2025: Nuclear Reactor Fuel Performance Conference
Country/Territory	United States
City	Nashville
Period	10/5/25 → 10/9/25

Funding

M5Framatome and PROtect are trademarks or registered trademarks of Framatome or its affiliates, in the USA or other countries. This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy under Award Number DE-NE0009034. This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. 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). Authors are indebted to Annabelle Le Coq for the HFIR irradiation design and her support on the passive thermometry measurements.

Keywords

irradiation temperature
mechanical testing
Neutron-irradiation
nuclear fuel cladding

Access to Document

10.13182/TOPFUEL25-48081

Cite this

Cinbiz, M. N., Wang, H., Garrison, B., Linton, K., Cantonwine, P., & Aumand, M. (2025). Mechanical response of HFIR-irradiated M5_Framatome cladding under simple and complex loading conditions. In Proceedings of the TopFuel 2025: Nuclear Reactor Fuel Performance Conference (pp. 522-531). (Proceedings of the TopFuel 2025: Nuclear Reactor Fuel Performance Conference). American Nuclear Society. https://doi.org/10.13182/TOPFUEL25-48081

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title = "Mechanical response of HFIR-irradiated M5Framatome cladding under simple and complex loading conditions",

abstract = "This study investigates the mechanical behavior of High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) irradiated M5Framatome cladding under simple and complex loading conditions through axial tensile and reversible cyclic bending. Axial tension specimens were pre-machined prior to HFIR irradiation while cyclic bend specimens were inserted as intact tubes. Tests articles were neutron-irradiated to 4 and 16 dpa, and specimens were tested at ORNL's hotcell facilities. The axial tension tests were conducted under constant displacement control, and the reversible cyclic bend tests were performed using ORNL's Cyclic Integrated Reversible-Bending Fatigue Tester (CIRFT) apparatus. Results showed that mechanical response of Cr-coated and uncoated M5Framatome cladding were similar and independent of irradiation dose for axial tension tests, while Cr-coated specimens' reversible cyclic bend behavior differed from uncoated counterparts. For all tests, irradiation temperature showed a significant impact on the mechanical behavior. Below 280°C, all axial tensile specimens whether coated or not behaved similarly. Above 280°C, YS and UTS showed decrease with increasing irradiation temperature. A similar behavior was also observed in cyclic bend tests as well. The mechanical damage during cyclic bend tests was linked to damage accumulation in unirradiated Cr-coated zircaloy-4 specimens, and the effect of irradiation temperature was related to changing characteristics of defect mobility during high temperature irradiation.",

keywords = "irradiation temperature, mechanical testing, Neutron-irradiation, nuclear fuel cladding",

author = "Cinbiz, \{M. Nedim\} and Hong Wang and Benton Garrison and Kory Linton and Paul Cantonwine and Matthieu Aumand",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} TopFuel 2025: Nuclear Reactor Fuel Performance.All rights reserved.; TopFuel 2025: Nuclear Reactor Fuel Performance Conference ; Conference date: 05-10-2025 Through 09-10-2025",

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doi = "10.13182/TOPFUEL25-48081",

language = "English",

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Cinbiz, MN , Wang, H , Garrison, B , Linton, K , Cantonwine, P & Aumand, M 2025, Mechanical response of HFIR-irradiated M5_Framatome cladding under simple and complex loading conditions. in Proceedings of the TopFuel 2025: Nuclear Reactor Fuel Performance Conference. Proceedings of the TopFuel 2025: Nuclear Reactor Fuel Performance Conference, American Nuclear Society, pp. 522-531, TopFuel 2025: Nuclear Reactor Fuel Performance Conference, Nashville, United States, 10/5/25. https://doi.org/10.13182/TOPFUEL25-48081

Mechanical response of HFIR-irradiated M5_Framatome cladding under simple and complex loading conditions. / Cinbiz, M. Nedim ; Wang, Hong ; Garrison, Benton et al.
Proceedings of the TopFuel 2025: Nuclear Reactor Fuel Performance Conference. American Nuclear Society, 2025. p. 522-531 (Proceedings of the TopFuel 2025: Nuclear Reactor Fuel Performance Conference).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

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AU - Cinbiz, M. Nedim

AU - Wang, Hong

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AU - Cantonwine, Paul

AU - Aumand, Matthieu

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N2 - This study investigates the mechanical behavior of High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) irradiated M5Framatome cladding under simple and complex loading conditions through axial tensile and reversible cyclic bending. Axial tension specimens were pre-machined prior to HFIR irradiation while cyclic bend specimens were inserted as intact tubes. Tests articles were neutron-irradiated to 4 and 16 dpa, and specimens were tested at ORNL's hotcell facilities. The axial tension tests were conducted under constant displacement control, and the reversible cyclic bend tests were performed using ORNL's Cyclic Integrated Reversible-Bending Fatigue Tester (CIRFT) apparatus. Results showed that mechanical response of Cr-coated and uncoated M5Framatome cladding were similar and independent of irradiation dose for axial tension tests, while Cr-coated specimens' reversible cyclic bend behavior differed from uncoated counterparts. For all tests, irradiation temperature showed a significant impact on the mechanical behavior. Below 280°C, all axial tensile specimens whether coated or not behaved similarly. Above 280°C, YS and UTS showed decrease with increasing irradiation temperature. A similar behavior was also observed in cyclic bend tests as well. The mechanical damage during cyclic bend tests was linked to damage accumulation in unirradiated Cr-coated zircaloy-4 specimens, and the effect of irradiation temperature was related to changing characteristics of defect mobility during high temperature irradiation.

AB - This study investigates the mechanical behavior of High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) irradiated M5Framatome cladding under simple and complex loading conditions through axial tensile and reversible cyclic bending. Axial tension specimens were pre-machined prior to HFIR irradiation while cyclic bend specimens were inserted as intact tubes. Tests articles were neutron-irradiated to 4 and 16 dpa, and specimens were tested at ORNL's hotcell facilities. The axial tension tests were conducted under constant displacement control, and the reversible cyclic bend tests were performed using ORNL's Cyclic Integrated Reversible-Bending Fatigue Tester (CIRFT) apparatus. Results showed that mechanical response of Cr-coated and uncoated M5Framatome cladding were similar and independent of irradiation dose for axial tension tests, while Cr-coated specimens' reversible cyclic bend behavior differed from uncoated counterparts. For all tests, irradiation temperature showed a significant impact on the mechanical behavior. Below 280°C, all axial tensile specimens whether coated or not behaved similarly. Above 280°C, YS and UTS showed decrease with increasing irradiation temperature. A similar behavior was also observed in cyclic bend tests as well. The mechanical damage during cyclic bend tests was linked to damage accumulation in unirradiated Cr-coated zircaloy-4 specimens, and the effect of irradiation temperature was related to changing characteristics of defect mobility during high temperature irradiation.

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KW - mechanical testing

KW - Neutron-irradiation

KW - nuclear fuel cladding

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Cinbiz MN , Wang H , Garrison B , Linton K , Cantonwine P, Aumand M. Mechanical response of HFIR-irradiated M5_Framatome cladding under simple and complex loading conditions. In Proceedings of the TopFuel 2025: Nuclear Reactor Fuel Performance Conference. American Nuclear Society. 2025. p. 522-531. (Proceedings of the TopFuel 2025: Nuclear Reactor Fuel Performance Conference). doi: 10.13182/TOPFUEL25-48081