Microstructural stability of ODS steel after very long-term creep test

Oka, Hiroshi; Tanno, Takashi; Yano, Yasuhide; Otsuka, Satoshi; Kaito, Takeji; Tachi, Yoshiaki

Journal of Nuclear Materials, 547, p.152833_1 - 152833_7, 2021/04

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2021.152833

In order to evaluate the stability of nano-sized oxide particles and matrix structure of ODS cladding tube, which are the determinants of their high temperature strength, the microstructural observation was carried out after internal pressurized creep test at 700C for over 45,000 hours. The specimens were the as-received and crept specimens of 9Cr-ODS steel with tempered martensite and 12Cr-ODS steel with recrystallized ferrite. Small platelet was cut out from the crept pressurized tube, then thinned to foil. Microstructural observation was conducted with TEM JEOL 2010F. As a result of the observation, it was confirmed that the size and number density of the nano-sized particles were almost unchanged even after the creep test. In addition, the tempered martensite structure, which is one of the determinants of the creep strength of 9Cr-ODS steel, was not significantly different between the as-received and crept specimen, indicating the stability of their matrix structure.

Machine learning potentials for tobermorite minerals

Kobayashi, Keita; Nakamura, Hiroki; Yamaguchi, Akiko; Itakura, Mitsuhiro; Machida, Masahiko; Okumura, Masahiko

Computational Materials Science, 188, p.110173_1 - 110173_14, 2021/02

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.commatsci.2020.110173

no abstracts in English

Numerical interpretation of hydrogen thermal desorption spectra for iron with hydrogen-enhanced strain-induced vacancies

Ebihara, Kenichi; Sugiyama, Yuri*; Matsumoto, Ryosuke*; Takai, Kenichi*; Suzudo, Tomoaki

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, 52(1), p.257 - 269, 2021/01

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-020-06075-7

We simulated the thermal desorption spectra of a small-size iron specimen to which was applied during charging with hydrogen atoms using a model incorporating the behavior of vacancies and vacancy clusters. The model considered up to vacancy clusters , which is composed of nine vacancies and employed the parameters based on atomistic calculations, including the H trapping energy of vacancies and vacancy clusters that we estimated using the molecular static calculation. As a result, we revealed that the model could, on the whole, reproduced the experimental spectra except two characteristic differences, and also the dependence of the spectra on the aging temperature. By examining the cause of the differences, the possibilities that the diffusion of clusters of and is slower than the model and that vacancy clusters are generated by applying strain and H charging concurrently were indicated.

Eco-friendly carboxymethyl cellulose nanofiber hydrogels prepared via freeze cross-linking and their applications

Sekine, Yurina; Nankawa, Takuya; Yunoki, Shunji*; Sugita, Tsuyoshi; Nakagawa, Hiroshi; Yamada, Teppei*

ACS Applied Polymer Materials (Internet), 2(12), p.5482 - 5491, 2020/12

https://doi.org//10.1021/acsapm.0c00831

We developed a cross-linking method using freeze concentration and used it to synthesize a new type of carboxymethyl cellulose nanofiber (CMCF) hydrogel with high compressive strength ( 80 MPa) and high compressive recoverability. The hydrogels were prepared by adding an aqueous solution of citric acid (CA) to a frozen CMCF sol and then thawing the sol. The reaction between the freeze-concentrated CMCF and CA created a rigid porous structure that reflected the ice crystal structure. Their cross-linked structure has a high stability to compressive stress. Bentonite was immobilized on a CMCF hydrogel by adding bentonite to the CMCF sol before freeze cross-linking. The CMCF-bentonite hydrogel showed high adsorptivity for chemical dyes. The physically cross-linked CMCF hydrogels are non-toxic, metal-free, and simple to prepare, and thus they may be useful as sustainable materials in various fields.

Oxygen self-diffusion in near stoichiometric (U,Pu)O at high temperatures of 1673-1873 K

Watanabe, Masashi; Kato, Masato; Sunaoshi, Takeo*

Journal of Nuclear Materials, 542, p.152472_1 - 152472_7, 2020/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152472

The oxygen self-diffusion coefficients in near stoichiometric (U,Pu)O at high temperatures were successfully measured by thermogravimetry combined with the oxygen isotope exchange method. The activation energy for oxygen diffusion in the stoichiometric composition of (U,Pu)O was evaluated from experimental data, and the value was determined to be 248 kJ/mol. In addition, the defect migration energies of (U,Pu)O were derived, and the oxygen self-diffusion coefficients were evaluated using these. As a result, good agreement was found between the experimental data and the oxygen self-diffusion coefficients calculated using the defect migration energies.

Atomistic modeling of hardening in spinodally-decomposed Fe-Cr binary alloys

Suzudo, Tomoaki; Takamizawa, Hisashi; Nishiyama, Yutaka; Caro, A.*; Toyama, Takeshi*; Nagai, Yasuyoshi*

Journal of Nuclear Materials, 540, p.152306_1 - 152306_10, 2020/11

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152306

Spinodal decomposition in thermally aged Fe-Cr alloys leads to significant hardening, which is the direct cause of the so-called 475C-embrittlement. To illustrate how spinodal decomposition induces hardening by atomistic interactions, we conducted a series of numerical simulations as well as reference experiments. The numerical results indicated that the hardness scales linearly with the short-range order (SRO) parameter, while the experimental result reproduced this relationship within statistical error. Both seemingly suggest that neighboring Cr-Cr atomic pairs essentially cause hardening, because SRO is by definition uniquely dependent on the appearance probability of such pairs. A further numerical investigation supported this notion, as it suggests that the dominant cause of hardening is the pinning effect of dislocations passing over such Cr-Cr pairs.

Ultra-fine CeO particles triggered strong interaction with LaFeO framework for total and preferential CO oxidation

Zheng, Y.*; Xiao, H.*; Li, K.*; Wang, Y.*; Li, Y.*; Wei, Y.*; Zhu, X.*; Li, H.-W.*; Matsumura, Daiju; Guo, B.*; et al.

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 12(37), p.42274 - 42284, 2020/09

https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.0c10271

The Possible transition mechanism for the meta-stable phase in the 7xxx aluminium

Bendo, A.*; Matsuda, Kenji*; Nishimura, Katsuhiko*; Nunomura, Norio*; Tsuchiya, Taiki*; Lee, S.*; Marioara, C. D.*; Tsuru, Tomohito; Yamaguchi, Masatake; Shimizu, Kazuyuki*; et al.

Materials Science and Technology, 36(15), p.1621 - 1627, 2020/09

https://doi.org/10.1080/02670836.2020.1821323

Metastable phases in aluminum alloys are the primary nano-scale precipitates which have the biggest contribution to the increase in the tangible mechanical properties. The continuous increase in hardness in the 7xxx aluminum alloys is associated with the phase transformation from clusters or GP-zones to the metastable phase. The transformation which is structural and compositional should occur following the path of the lowest activation energy. This work is an attempt to gain insight into how the structural transformation may occur based on the shortest route of diffusion for the eventual structure to result in that of phase. However, for the compositional transformation to occur, the proposed mechanism may not stand, since it is a prerequisite for the atoms to be at very precise positions in the aluminum lattice, at the very beginning of structural transformation, which may completely differ from that of the GP-zones atomic arrangements.

Oxide dispersion strengthened steels

Ukai, Shigeharu*; Ono, Naoko*; Otsuka, Satoshi

Comprehensive Nuclear Materials, 2nd Edition, Vol.3, p.255 - 292, 2020/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-803581-8.11718-7

Fe-Cr-based oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) steels have a strong potential for high burnup (long-life) and high-temperature applications typical for SFR fuel cladding. Current progress in the development of Fe-Cr-based ODS steel claddings is reviewed, including their relevant mechanical properties, e.g. tensile and creep rupture strengths in the hoop directions. In addition, this paper reviewed the current research status on corrosion resistant Fe-Cr-Al-based ODS steel claddings, which are greatly paid attention recently as the accident tolerant fuel claddings for the light water reactor (LWR) and also as the claddings of the lead fast reactors (LFR) utilizing Pb-Bi eutectic (LBE) coolant.

Advanced concepts in TRISO fuel

Minato, Kazuo; Ogawa, Toru

Comprehensive Nuclear Materials, 2nd Edition, Vol.5, p.334 - 360, 2020/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-803581-8.11688-1

TRISO coated particle fuel has been developed for the high temperature gas-cooled reactors, which consists of microspherical fuel kernel and coating layers of pyrolytic carbon and silicon carbide. To improve the high temperature stability, the resistance to the chemical attack by fission products and the retention of fission products of the TRISO coated particle fuels, several types of advanced fuels were proposed and tested. Coated particle fuels for fast reactors were also proposed and tested. In this paper, fuel designs, fabrications, characterization techniques and fuel performance of these advanced coated particle fuels are systematically described. This is the updated version of the paper having the same title in Comprehensive Nuclear Materials published in 2012.