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Ukai, Shigeharu; Sakamoto, Kan*; Otsuka, Satoshi; Yamashita, Shinichiro; Kimura, Akihiko*
Journal of Nuclear Materials, 583, p.154508_1 - 154508_24, 2023/09
Times Cited Count：5 Percentile：94.3(Materials Science, Multidisciplinary)
' precipitates in nickel based oxide dispersion-strengthened superalloys under high-temperature and heavy irradiation conditionsKonno, Azusa; Ono, Naoko*; Ukai, Shigeharu*; Kondo, Sosuke*; Hashitomi, Okinobu*; Kimura, Akihiko*
Materials Transactions, 60(11), p.2260 - 2266, 2019/11
Times Cited Count：1 Percentile：6.23(Materials Science, Multidisciplinary)A stability of cuboidal ' phase under heavy irradiation was studied for newly developed Ni-based Oxide Dispersion Strengthened (ODS) superalloy as a candidate for the core structural materials in VHTR or GFR. The ion irradiation was applied at 873K, 1073K, 1273K and the dose was 100 dpa. The ' phase remained the cuboidal shape at 873K but got out of the shape at 1073K after irradiation. Those growths can be explained by the Nelson-Hudson-Mazey (NHM) model. For the result of 1273K irradiation, however, huge ' phase appeared in the whole irradiated area at the post irradiation-observation. This behavior is interpreted in terms of disordering of the ordered ' phase due to cascade collision, and thus increasing Gibbs free energy of the disordered phase induces a change of the element distribution inside the irradiated area. The ordered ' phase was reproduced from the disordered state at the cooling after ion irradiation.
Yamashita, Shinichiro; Ioka, Ikuo; Nemoto, Yoshiyuki; Kawanishi, Tomohiro; Kurata, Masaki; Kaji, Yoshiyuki; Fukahori, Tokio; Nozawa, Takashi*; Sato, Daiki*; Murakami, Nozomu*; et al.
Proceedings of International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Conference / Light Water Reactor Fuel Performance Conference (Global/Top Fuel 2019) (USB Flash Drive), p.206 - 216, 2019/09
After the nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant, research and development (R&D) program for establishing technical basis of accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) started from 2015 in Japan. Since then, both experimental and analytical studies necessary for designing a new light water reactor (LWR) core with ATF candidate materials are being conducted within the Japanese ATF R&D Consortium for implementing ATF to the existing LWRs, accompanying with various technological developments required. Until now, we have accumulated experimental data of the candidate materials by out-of-pile tests, developed fuel evaluation codes to apply to the ATF candidate materials, and evaluated fuel behavior simulating operational and accidental conditions by the developed codes. In this paper, the R&D progresses of the ATF candidate materials considered in Japan are reviewed based on the information available such as proceedings of international conference and academic papers, providing an overview of ATF program in Japan.
Kondo, Keietsu; Aoki, So; Yamashita, Shinichiro; Ukai, Shigeharu*; Sakamoto, Kan*; Hirai, Mutsumi*; Kimura, Akihiko*
Nuclear Materials and Energy (Internet), 15, p.13 - 16, 2018/05
Times Cited Count：18 Percentile：88.27(Nuclear Science & Technology)Radiation hardening and microstructural evolution of ion irradiated 12Cr-6Al ODS ferritic steel was studied. Ion irradiation experiments were performed using Fe ions up to the nominal displacement damage of 20 dpa at the irradiation temperature was 300
C. The monotonical increase of radiation hardening with dose was confirmed by experimentally obtained hardness data. The radiation hardening was also calculated theoretically by introducing the microstructural character examined by TEM into the dispersed barrier hardening model. The results showed a good agreement with the experimentally obtained data up to 5 dpa, while a slight discrepancy was found between theoretical and experimental hardness values at 20 dpa. Radiation hardening was mainly caused by irradiation-induced defect clusters below the irradiation dose of 5 dpa. As the irradiation dose increased toward 20 dpa, an additional influence of the radiation appeared, which was assumed to be induced by 
' phase transformation.
Yamashita, Shinichiro; Nagase, Fumihisa; Kurata, Masaki; Nozawa, Takashi; Watanabe, Seiichi*; Kirimura, Kazuki*; Kakiuchi, Kazuo*; Kondo, Takao*; Sakamoto, Kan*; Kusagaya, Kazuyuki*; et al.
Proceedings of 2017 Water Reactor Fuel Performance Meeting (WRFPM 2017) (USB Flash Drive), 10 Pages, 2017/09
In Japan, the research and development (R&D) project on accident tolerant fuel and other components (ATFs) of light water reactors (LWRs) has been initiated in 2015 for establishing technical basis of ATFs. The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has coordinated and carried out this ATF R&D project in cooperation with power plant providers, fuel venders and universities for making the best use of the experiences, knowledges in commercial uses of zirconium-base alloys (Zircaloy) in LWRs. ATF candidate materials under consideration in the project are FeCrAl steel strengthened by dispersion of fine oxide particles(FeCrAl-ODS) and silicon carbide (SiC) composite, and are expecting to endure severe accident conditions in the reactor core for a longer period of time than the Zircaloy while maintaining or improving fuel performance during normal operations. In this paper, the progresses of the R&D project are reported.
Kimura, Akihiko*; Yuzawa, Sho*; Sakamoto, Kan*; Hirai, Mutsumi*; Kusagaya, Kazuyuki*; Yamashita, Shinichiro
Proceedings of 2017 Water Reactor Fuel Performance Meeting (WRFPM 2017) (USB Flash Drive), 10 Pages, 2017/09
The effect of Al addition on the PRW weldability of ODS steel is shown with the discussion focusing on the microstructure changes by the welding. The ordinary welding methods including electron beam (EB) welding and tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding were also applied to the SUS430 endcap welding to cladding tube made of FeCrAl-ODS steel. The endcap welded ODS steel tube samples were tensile tested at RT. The EB welded FeCrAl-ODS/SUS430 samples broke in the ODS steel tube, indicating that the weld bond is stronger than the ODS base metal. However, the TIG welded FeCrAl-ODS/SUS430 samples broke at a weld bond. X-ray CT scan analysis was performed for the weld bond, and the bonding strength was correlated with the X-ray CT results in order to assess the feasibility of those welding methods for ATF-ODS steel cladding.
Sakamoto, Kan*; Hirai, Mutsumi*; Ukai, Shigeharu*; Kimura, Akihiko*; Yamaji, Akifumi*; Kusagaya, Kazuyuki*; Kondo, Takao*; Yamashita, Shinichiro
Proceedings of 2017 Water Reactor Fuel Performance Meeting (WRFPM 2017) (USB Flash Drive), 7 Pages, 2017/09
This paper will show the overview of current status of development of accident tolerant FeCrAl-ODS fuel claddings for BWRs (boiling water reactors) in the program sponsored and organized by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan. This program is being carried out to create the technical basis for the practical use of the accident tolerant fuels and the other components in LWRs through multifaceted activities. In the development of FeCrAl-ODS fuel claddings both the experimental and the analytical studies have been performed. The acquisition and accumulation of key material properties of FeCrAl-ODS fuel claddings were conducted by using bar, sheet and tube shaped FeCrAl-ODS materials fabricated in this program to support the evaluations in the analytical studies. A neutron irradiation test was also started in the ORNL High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) to examine the effect of neutron irradiation on the mechanical properties.
Yano, Yasuhide; Tanno, Takashi; Oka, Hiroshi; Otsuka, Satoshi; Inoue, Toshihiko; Kato, Shoichi; Furukawa, Tomohiro; Uwaba, Tomoyuki; Kaito, Takeji; Ukai, Shigeharu*; et al.
Journal of Nuclear Materials, 487, p.229 - 237, 2017/04
Times Cited Count：37 Percentile：96.77(Materials Science, Multidisciplinary)Ultra-high temperature ring tensile tests were carried out to investigate the tensile behavior of oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) steel claddings and wrapper materials under severe accident conditions; temperatures ranged from room temperature to 1400C which is near the melting point of core materials. The experimental results showed that tensile strength of 9Cr-ODS steel claddings was highest in the core materials at the ultra-high temperatures between 900 and 1200C, but that there was significant degradation in tensile strength of 9Cr-ODS steel claddings above 1200C. This degradation was attributed to grain boundary sliding deformation with /
transformation, which was associated with reduced ductility. On the other hand, tensile strength of recrystallized 12Cr-ODS and FeCrAl-ODS steel claddings retained its high value above 1200 C unlike the other tested materials. Present study includes the result of "R&D of ODS ferritic steel fuel cladding for maintaining fuel integrity at the high temperature accident condition" entrusted to Hokkaido University by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT).
Uwaba, Tomoyuki; Yano, Yasuhide; Otsuka, Satoshi; Naganuma, Masayuki; Tanno, Takashi; Oka, Hiroshi; Kato, Shoichi; Kaito, Takeji; Ukai, Shigeharu*; Kimura, Akihiko*; et al.
Proceedings of 2017 International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants (ICAPP 2017) (CD-ROM), 7 Pages, 2017/04
Tolerance of fast rector fuel elements to failure in the typical accident conditions was evaluated for the oxide-dispersion-strengthened (ODS) ferritic steel claddings that are candidate of the cladding material for advanced fast reactors. The evaluation was based on the cladding creep damage, which was quantified by the cumulative damage fractions (CDFs). It was shown that the CDFs of the ODS ferritic steel cladding were substantially lower than the breach limit of 1.0 in the loss of flow and transient over power conditions until a passive reactor shutdown system operates.
Kimura, Atsushi; Nagasawa, Naotsugu; Shimada, Akihiko; Taguchi, Mitsumasa
Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 124, p.130 - 134, 2016/07
Times Cited Count：9 Percentile：64.88(Chemistry, Physical)no abstracts in English
LiIshiyama, Hironobu*; Jeong, S.-C.*; Watanabe, Yutaka*; Hirayama, Yoshikazu*; Imai, Nobuaki*; Jung, H. S.*; Miyatake, Hiroari*; Oyaizu, Mitsuhiro*; Osa, Akihiko; Otokawa, Yoshinori; et al.
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B, 376, p.379 - 381, 2016/06
Times Cited Count：8 Percentile：60.26(Instruments & Instrumentation)
Gochi, Jun*; Sumiyama, Akihiko*; Yamaguchi, Akira*; Motoyama, Gaku*; Kimura, Noriaki*; Yamamoto, Etsuji; Haga, Yoshinori; Onuki, Yoshichika
Physical Review B, 93(17), p.174514_1 - 174514_5, 2016/05
Times Cited Count：1 Percentile：5.14(Materials Science, Multidisciplinary)Wakai, Eiichi; Kikuchi, Takayuki; Kim, B.*; Kimura, Akihiko*; Nogami, Shuhei*; Hasegawa, Akira*; Nishimura, Arata*; Soldaini, M.*; Yamamoto, Michiyoshi*; Knaster, J.*
Fusion Engineering and Design, 98-99, p.2089 - 2093, 2015/10
Times Cited Count：16 Percentile：77.56(Nuclear Science & Technology)Li tracerIshiyama, Hironobu*; Jeong, S.-C.*; Watanabe, Yutaka*; Hirayama, Yoshikazu*; Imai, Nobuaki*; Miyatake, Hiroari*; Oyaizu, Mitsuhiro*; Katayama, Ichiro*; Osa, Akihiko; Otokawa, Yoshinori; et al.
Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, 53(11), p.110303_1 - 110303_4, 2014/11
Times Cited Count：4 Percentile：18.17(Physics, Applied)
under various selections of temperature conditionsYamamoto, Masato*; Kimura, Akihiko*; Onizawa, Kunio; Yoshimoto, Kentaro*; Ogawa, Takuya*; Mabuchi, Yasuhiro*; Viehrig, H.-W.*; Miura, Naoki*; Soneda, Naoki*
Proceedings of 2014 ASME Pressure Vessels and Piping Conference (PVP 2014) (DVD-ROM), 7 Pages, 2014/07
The Master Curve (MC) approach for the fracture toughness reference temperature To is expected to be a powerful tool to ensure the reliability of long-term used RPV steels. In order to get sufficient number of data for the MC approach related to the present surveillance program for RPVs, the use of miniature specimens is important. The test technique for the miniature specimens (Mini-CT) of 4 mm thick had been verified the basic applicability of MC approach by means of Mini-CT for the determination of fracture toughness of typical Japanese RPV steels. A round robin (RR) program was organized to assure the robustness of the technique. As the third step of RR program, blinded tests were carried out. Precise material information was not provided to the participants. From the results obtained, the scatter range in was within the acceptable scatter range specified in the testing standard. The selection of testing temperature seems to give limited effect like that in larger specimens.
and conventional superconductors under pressureGochi, Jun*; Sumiyama, Akihiko*; Yamaguchi, Akira*; Motoyama, Gaku*; Kimura, Noriaki*; Yamamoto, Etsuji; Haga, Yoshinori; Onuki, Yoshichika
JPS Conference Proceedings (Internet), 3, p.011067_1 - 011067_6, 2014/06
measurements of neutron-rich nuclei far from the 
-stability lineHayashi, Hiroaki*; Shibata, Michihiro*; Asai, Masato; Osa, Akihiko; Sato, Tetsuya; Koizumi, Mitsuo; Kimura, Atsushi; Oshima, Masumi*
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 747, p.41 - 51, 2014/05
Times Cited Count：10 Percentile：60.98(Instruments & Instrumentation)To measure -decay energy of short-lived fission products with good accuracy and high efficiency, we have developed a new total absorption clover detector and demonstrated its performance. Using a large-volume clover-type Ge detector having a through-hole in its center, we could measure total absorption spectra of + rays with extremely high efficiency and high energy resolution, and could determine values with 
30 keV accuracy. Using this detector, we have determined the values of 
Eu and 
Gd for the first time, and of 
Eu and 
Gd with better accuracies. In addition, we have observed a new isomeric state in Gd, and determined its half-life and excitation energy.
Kim, B. J.; Kasada, Ryuta*; Kimura, Akihiko*; Wakai, Eiichi; Tanigawa, Hiroyasu
Journal of Nuclear Materials, 442(1-3), p.S38 - S42, 2013/11
Times Cited Count：12 Percentile：67.14(Materials Science, Multidisciplinary)Tokunaga, Tomonori*; Watanabe, Hideo*; Yoshida, Naoaki*; Nagasaka, Takuya*; Kasada, Ryuta*; Lee, Y.-J.*; Kimura, Akihiko*; Tokitani, Masayuki*; Mitsuhara, Masatoshi*; Hinoki, Tatsuya*; et al.
Journal of Nuclear Materials, 442(1-3), p.S287 - S291, 2013/11
Times Cited Count：11 Percentile：64.2(Materials Science, Multidisciplinary)Otsuka, Satoshi; Kaito, Takeji; Ukai, Shigeharu*; Inoue, Masaki; Okuda, Takanari*; Kimura, Akihiko*
Journal of Nuclear Materials, 441(1-3), p.286 - 292, 2013/10
Times Cited Count：4 Percentile：32.48(Materials Science, Multidisciplinary)The Al addition to ODS ferritic steels considerably improves the compatibility between U-Zr fuel and the ODS steels. The threshold temperature for reaction layer formation is roughly 50K higher in the Al-containing ODS ferritic steels than in those same steels without Al addition. The activity calculation results obtained using general thermodynamic data indicate the possibility that stabilization of the intact alpha-Zr layer by Al addition is the main mechanism for the compatibility improvement by Al addition.
