Microstructure and mechanical property changes in fuel cladding during RIA-type temperature transients

Nagase, Fumihisa ; Sugiyama, Tomoyuki ; Fuketa, Toyoshi

Laboratory-scale experiments are performed to examine microstructure and mechanical property changes of the fuel cladding during temperature transients and estimate the fuel behavior for a wide temperature range under various RIA conditions. Ductility of the cladding generally increases with the temperature. The ductility increase of the hydrided cladding is obvious between 300 and 473 K, while it is small between 473 and 573 K. Ductility increase due to recrystallization is not expected during the RIA-type quick transient. On the other hand, phase transitions above 1100 K occur so quickly and affect the mechanical property of the cladding. The influence of the hydride rim at the cladding periphery would not be seen above 870 K since hydrides in the rim are in solid solution for a very short time.