The diametral expansion of pressure tubes in CANDU™ reactors due to irradiation creep and growth is an important property that may limit the useful life of the tubes. Measurements accumulated over many years have shown that there is considerable variability in diametral strain rates between tubes. There is also considerable variability in the creep and growth response as a function of axial location, which is due to axial variations in operating temperature and flux, and to a gradual change in grain structure and crystallographic texture from one end of the tube to the other. The net effect is that pressure tubes tend to deform at a faster rate when the back end of the tube (i.e., the end leaving the extrusion press last) is installed at the fuel-channel outlet. The primary cause of the difference in microstructure along a given tube is the temperature change during the extrusion process. This end-to-end variation itself varies from tube to tube, due to variations in extrusion conditions from one extrusion run to the next, and also due to variations in ingot chemistry and billet processing. A semiempirical predictive model has been developed previously to represent the irradiation creep and growth behavior of a generic pressure tube, with a standardized microstructure, as a function of temperature and neutron flux. The diametral strain data from one hundred and twenty-five Zr-2.5Nb pressure tubes have been compared with the model. Deviations from predicted behavior have been correlated with the available microstructure, chemistry, and manufacturing data. Apart from obvious microstructural dependencies of diametral strain, such as the relationship with texture, grain structure is also a significant parameter that varies considerably from tube to tube and correlates strongly with diametral strain. The textures and grain structures, themselves, are related to manufacturing conditions (billet processing, extrusion pressures, temperatures, and soak times) and also, to some extent, on the impurity content of the material (due to the modifying effects on the Zr-Nb phase diagram).
Postirradiation microstructure examinations of Zr-2.5Nb pressure tubes removed from service in CANDU™ reactors have shown clear trends in the dislocation structure and the state of the β-phase, as a function of operating temperature, neutron flux, and time. These microstructural parameters correlate well with changes in the mechanical properties. For example, the rapid increase in dislocation loop density in the early stages of irradiation corresponds with a rapid increase in tensile strength and DHC velocity, and a corresponding decrease in fracture toughness. There is also a strong negative correlation between the degree of β-phase decomposition and DHC velocity. In addition to the effects of microstructure evolution on the mechanical properties, changes in the a-type and c-component dislocation loop densities also affect irradiation deformation (creep and growth). Statistical analyses of the irradiation microstructure data have been used to derive empirical relationships between dislocation densities and β-phase structure with temperature, flux, and time. The relationships thus derived are useful in predicting where the mechanical properties are most affected by the in-reactor operating conditions. The predictions are compared with mechanical test data for samples from various axial and circumferential locations of 42 pressure tubes removed from operating CANDU reactors. The results are discussed in terms of the mechanisms controlling tensile strength, fracture, delayed-hydride-cracking, and in-reactor deformation.
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