Iron-chrome-aluminum alloy cladding for increasing safety in nuclear power plants

Rebak, Raúl B.

doi:10.1051/epjn/2017029

Cited by 54 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The good corrosion resistance has been attributed to high Cr concentration (leading to chromium oxide film) and the high temperature oxidation resistance is due to the formation of an aluminum-oxide (a-alumina) surface layer. [8,40,44]…”

Section: B Fecral Alloys For Nuclear Fuel Cladding In Lwrsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[1] There was an international consensus on the need to remove all the zirconium (Zr) based materials from the light water reactors (LWR) and replace them with ATF materials also known as advanced technology fuels (ATF). [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] The newer ATF materials may include both cladding materials and fuel materials. [1] For the cladding applications there are three main concepts accepted by the thirty countries which are currently using LWR for the generation of electricity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hydrogen Isotopes Permeation in Clean or Unoxidized FeCrAl Alloys: A Review

Garud¹,

Hoffman²,

Rebak³

2022

Metall Mater Trans A

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The US Department of Energy is working with fuel vendors to develop accident tolerant fuels (ATF) for the current fleet of light water reactors (LWRs). The ATF should be more resilient to loss of coolant accident scenarios and help extending the life of the operating LWRs. One of the proposed ATF concepts is to use iron-chromium-aluminum (FeCrAl) alloys for the cladding of the fuel. A concern in using ferritic FeCrAl is that this type of cladding may result in an increase in the concentration of tritium in the coolant. The objective of the current critical review is to collect and assess information from the literature regarding diffusion or permeation of hydrogen (H) and its isotopes deuterium (D) and Tritium (T) across industrial alloys (including FeCrAl) used or intended for the nuclear industry. Over a hundred years of data reviewed shows that the solubility of hydrogen in ferritic alloys is lower than in austenitic alloys but hydrogen permeates faster through a ferritic material than through austenitic materials. The tritium permeation rates in FeCrAl alloys are between those in austenitic stainless steels and in ferritic FeCr steels. The activation energy for hydrogen permeation is approximately 30 pct higher in the austenitic alloys compared with the ferritic (typically ∼ 50 kJ/mol in ferritic vs. ∼ 65 kJ/mol in the austenitic). None of the major elements in FeCrAl alloys react with hydrogen to form detrimental hydride phases. The effect of surface oxides on FeCrAl delaying hydrogen entrance into FeCrAl alloy is not part of this review.

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Section: B Fecral Alloys For Nuclear Fuel Cladding In Lwrsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrogen Isotopes Permeation in Clean or Unoxidized FeCrAl Alloys: A Review

Garud¹,

Hoffman²,

Rebak³

2022

Metall Mater Trans A

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“…At 1200°C, the protective oxide was simply a layer of columnar clean alumina. 10,13 The alumina that formed at 1200°C was alpha; however the alumina formed at 800°C was difficult to characterize. Figures 13 and 14 show that at temperatures as low as 800°C, the FeCrAl develop a protection mechanism against air or steam based on a dual-…”

Section: Apmt Airmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is a current international effort to find an alternative to the fuel system of zircaloy cladding with urania pellets. 10,11 The alternative ATF configuration should be more resistant to severe loss of coolant situations like the Fukushima events of March 2011. Several concepts have been proposed around the globe.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[2][3][4][5][6][7] Therefore, in the case of a loss of coolant accident, the FeCrAl would be several orders of magnitude more resistant to oxidation than the current zirconium-based materials. 10,11 Since FeCrAl materials have never been used before in a light water power reactor, the characterization of their performance for nuclear applications is of high importance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Oxidation Characteristics of Two FeCrAl Alloys in Air and Steam from 800°C to 1300°C

Rebak¹,

Gupta²,

Larsen³

2018

JOM

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Iron-chromium-aluminum (FeCrAl) alloys are being investigated as cladding material for urania nuclear fuel in light water power reactors. One extraordinary attribute of the FeCrAl alloys is their resistance to attack by air and steam up to their melting point. It was of interest to study the kinetics of oxidation of FeCrAl from 800°C to 1300°C in air and in steam to determine how the oxides evolve to provide protection to the alloys. The two investigated alloys were APMT (Fe-21Cr-5Al-3Mo) and C26M (Fe-12Cr-6Al-2Mo). Results show that both alloys had similar oxidation kinetics despite their different chemical compositions. For the testing times, the oxidation rate was higher in air than in steam at the higher temperatures (1100-1300°C) and higher in steam than in air at the lower temperatures (800-1100°C). In the lower temperature range, the surface oxide consisted of two layers, an internal layer rich in aluminum and an external layer containing Al, Cr, and Fe. In the higher temperature range, the oxide was a single layer of alumina (no Cr, no Fe, no Mo).

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Chromium Coatings Applied to Zr Alloy Claddings by Cathodic Arc Ion Plating: Effect of Nitrogen Inclusion on Limiting Columnar Defects

Yoon,

Choi,

Yeo

et al. 2024

Adv Eng Mater

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The effect of nitrogen on an anticorrosive Cr coating for the Zr alloy cladding of nuclear fuel rods is investigated. It is aimed to reduce the number of typical columnar defects generated in Cr‐based coatings when using the cathodic arc ion plating method through reactive nitrogen inclusion and improve the oxidation resistance. Under a working pressure of 5 Pa and an arc current of 60 A in a chrome target, Cr‐based coatings are fabricated under varying N2/Ar gas flow ratios and substrate biases. The growth structures, crystallography, and corrosion behavior of the coatings are characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, and potentiodynamic polarization tests. The Cr coating exhibits a typical columnar structure with voids, pores, and columnar defects. In comparison, through nitrogen inclusion, when the nitrogen content of the Cr‐based coating is less than 15 at%, the Cr(N) coating shows a “featureless structure” similar to an amorphous structure, resulting in fewer voids and defects. Potentiodynamic polarization tests reveal that the Cr(N) coating, featuring a distorted body‐centered cubic‐Cr structure, exhibits a significantly low corrosion current in the passive region. The protection efficiency of the Cr(N) coating is calculated to be 96.9%, confirming its superior substrate protection capabilities compared with chromium nitride coatings.

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Iron-chrome-aluminum alloy cladding for increasing safety in nuclear power plants

Cited by 54 publications

References 16 publications

Hydrogen Isotopes Permeation in Clean or Unoxidized FeCrAl Alloys: A Review

Hydrogen Isotopes Permeation in Clean or Unoxidized FeCrAl Alloys: A Review

Oxidation Characteristics of Two FeCrAl Alloys in Air and Steam from 800°C to 1300°C

Chromium Coatings Applied to Zr Alloy Claddings by Cathodic Arc Ion Plating: Effect of Nitrogen Inclusion on Limiting Columnar Defects

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