| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2021 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Mechanical Behavior of Nuclear Reactor Components
|
| Presentation Title |
Nanomechanical Assessment of a Neutron Irradiated U-10Zr Fuel |
| Author(s) |
Maria A. Okuniewski, Jonova Thomas, Alejandro Figueroa, Fei Tang, Daniel Murray, Xiang Liu |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Maria A. Okuniewski |
| Abstract Scope |
Uranium-zirconium (U-Zr) fuels have been investigated for decades as fast reactor fuels. However, little was previously known about the nanomechanical evolution within these fuels, in particular the fuel-cladding chemical interaction (FCCI) region and the cladding. Recent advances in nanomechanical and nanochemical characterization of nuclear fuels have furthered the nuclear community’s understanding of neutron irradiated materials. Nanoindentations were performed on an U-10 wt.% Zr fuel clad with HT-9 and irradiated in the Fast Flux Test Reactor to a burn-up of 5.7 atom %. Nanomechanical disparities were observed in the HT-9, HT-9 infiltrated with fission products, and the FCCI region. The FCCI region demonstrated the largest increase in nanohardness. The nanomechanical results will be correlated to the microstructural features observed via electron microscopy and synchrotron micro-computed tomography. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Nuclear Materials, Mechanical Properties, |