| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2025 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Seaborg Institutes: Emerging Topics in Actinide Sciences
|
| Presentation Title |
Understand Behavior of Tungsten and Tantalum Components During Actinide Pyroprocessing |
| Author(s) |
Elise Shauf, Adam Burak, Stephen Raiman |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Elise Shauf |
| Abstract Scope |
Refractory metals are commonly used in plutonium pyrometallurgy due to their compatibility with molten chloride salt. Due to this being a batch process, equipment failures during pyrometallurgical processing can be costly. Failures are hypothesized to be caused by corrosion and/or embrittlement mechanisms by the plutonium metal itself or the chloride salt.
For this work, material failure mechanisms were investigated by exposing samples to cerium, a plutonium surrogate, and molten chloride salts in a simulated pyrometallurgy environment. These exposures were performed at 850℃, and the samples were strained to measure how exposure affected mechanical properties. Samples were characterized to investigate the infiltration of cerium and/or salt into the samples and determine any changes to the materials' microstructures. Initial results indicate that cerium exposure may potentially reduce the strength of the tantalum and tungsten.
This work will provide new insights into the failure mechanics of tantalum and tungsten during pyroprocessing. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Pyrometallurgy, Characterization, Other |