Effect of dissolved oxygen concentration on dynamic strain aging and stress corrosion cracking of SUS304 stainless steel under high temperature pressurized water

Hirota, Noriaki; Nakano, Hiroko; Fujita, Yoshitaka; Takeuchi, Tomoaki; Tsuchiya, Kunihiko; Demura, Masahiko*; Kobayashi, Yoshinao*

The IV International Scientific Forum "Nuclear Science and Technologies"; AIP Conference Proceedings 3020, p.030007_1 - 030007_6, 2024/01

https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0192888

Dynamic strain aging (DSA) and intergranular stress corrosion cracking (intragranular SCC) occur in high temperature pressurized water simulating a boiling water reactor environment due to changes in dissolved oxygen (DO) content, respectively. In order to clearly understand the difference between these phenomena, the mechanism of their occurrence was summarized. As a result, it was found that DSA due to intragranular cracking occurred in SUS304 stainless steel at low DO 1 ppb, while DSA was suppressed at DO 100 to 8500 ppb due to the formation of oxide films on the surface. On the other hand, when DO was increased to 20000 ppb, the film was peeled from the matrix, O element diffused to the grain boundary of the matrix, resulting in intergranular SCC. These results are indicated that the optimum DO concentration must be adjusted to suppress crack initiation due to DSA and intergranular SCC.

Design details of bottom shape for the 3rd glass melter in TVF

Asahi, Yoshimitsu; Shimamura, Keisuke*; Kobayashi, Hidekazu; Kodaka, Akira

JAEA-Technology 2021-026, 50 Pages, 2022/03

JAEA-Technology-2021-026.pdf:6.29MB

In Tokai Reprocessing Plant, the highly active liquid waste derived from a spent fuel reprocessing is vitrified with a Liquid-Fed Ceramic Melter (LFCM) embedded in Tokai Vitrification Facility (TVF). For an LFCM, the viscosity of melted glass is increased by the deposition of oxidation products of platinum group elements (PGE) and the PGE-containing glass tends to settle to the melter's bottom basin even after draining glass out. Removal of the PGE-containing glass is needed to avoid the Joule heating current from being affected by the glass, it requires time-consuming work to remove. For the early accomplishment of vitrifying the waste, Japan Atomic Energy Agency is planning to replace the current melter with the new one in which the amount of PGE sediments would be reduced. In the past design activities for the next melter, several kinds of shapes in regard to the furnace bottom and the strainer were drawn. Among these designs, the one in which the discharge ratio of PGE-containing glass would be as much as or greater than the current melter and which be able to perform similar operational sequences done in the current melter is selected here. Firstly, an operational sequence to produce one canister of vitrified waste is simulated for three melter designs with a furnace bottom shape, using 3D thermal-hydraulic calculations. The computed temperature distribution and its changes are compared among the candidate structures. After discussions about the technical and structural feasibilities of each design, a cone shape with a 45 slope was selected as the bottom shape of the next melter. Secondly, five strainer designs that fit the bottom shape above mentioned are drawn. For each design, the fluid drag and the discharge ratio of relatively high viscosity fluid resting near the bottom are estimated, using steady or unsteady CFD simulation. By draining silicone oil from acrylic furnace models, it was confirmed experimentally that there are no vortices

Neutron Bragg-edge transmission imaging for microstructure and residual strain in induction hardened gears

Su, Y. H.; Oikawa, Kenichi; Shinohara, Takenao; Kai, Tetsuya; Horino, Takashi*; Idohara, Osamu*; Misaka, Yoshitaka*; Tomota, Yo*

Scientific Reports (Internet), 11, p.4155_1 - 4155_14, 2021/02

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-83555-9

Development of cryogenic tensile testing apparatus for lattice strain measurement using synchrotron radiation for REBCO composite conductors

Sugano, Michinaka*; Machiya, Shutaro*; Shobu, Takahisa; Shiro, Ayumi*; Kajiwara, Kentaro*; Nakamoto, Tatsushi*

Superconductor Science and Technology, 33(8), p.085003_1 - 085003_10, 2020/08

https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6668/ab953e

Development of creep property equations of 316FR stainless steel and Mod.9Cr-1Mo steel for sodium-cooled fast reactor to achieve 60-year design life

Onizawa, Takashi; Hashidate, Ryuta

Mechanical Engineering Journal (Internet), 6(1), p.18-00477_1 - 18-00477_15, 2019/02

https://doi.org/10.1299/mej.18-00477

Aiming at enhancing its economic competitiveness and reducing radioactive waste, JAEA has proposed an attractive plant concept and made great efforts to demonstrate the applicability of some innovative technologies to the plant. One of the most practical means is to extend the design life to 60 years. Accordingly, the material strength standards set by JSME have to be extended from 300,000 to 500,000 hours but this extension requires more precise estimation of creep rupture strength and creep strain of the materials in the long term. This paper describes the development of creep property equations of 316FR stainless steel and Mod.9Cr-1Mo steel considering changes in creep mechanisms at high temperatures in the long term based on evaluations of long-term creep properties of the materials. The creep property equations developed in this study will provide more precise estimation of the creep properties in the long term than the present creep property equations of JSME.

Thermal strain in superconducting NbSn strand at cryogenic temperature

Harjo, S.; Kawasaki, Takuro; Hemmi, Tsutomu; Ito, Takayoshi*; Nakamoto, Tatsushi*; Aizawa, Kazuya

JPS Conference Proceedings (Internet), 8, p.031001_1 - 031001_5, 2015/09

The Evaluation of the influence of hydride rim and biaxial stress condition on the cladding failure under a reactivity-initiated-accident by using EDC test method

Shinozaki, Takashi; Mihara, Takeshi; Udagawa, Yutaka; Sugiyama, Tomoyuki; Amaya, Masaki

JAEA-Research 2014-025, 34 Pages, 2014/12

JAEA-Research-2014-025.pdf:6.05MB

EDC test is a test method on the mechanical property of fuel cladding tube, and it focuses on the stress condition generated by PCMI under a RIA. We conducted EDC tests which simulate the mechanical conditions during a RIA by using the unirradiated cladding tubes which simulate hydride rim. Circumferential residual strains observed in post-test specimens tended to decrease with increasing the hydrogen concentration in the test cladding tubes and the thickness of the hydride rim. We also prepared RAG tube and performed EDC tests on it. It was observed that circumferential total strains at failure tended to decrease with increasing pre-crack depth on the outer surface of RAG tube specimen. We conducted biaxial stress tests by applying longitudinal tensile load onto RAG tube specimens. It was observed that circumferential total strains at failure under biaxial stress conditions tended to decrease compared to the results under uniaxial tensile condition.

Analysis on split failure of cladding of high burnup BWR rods in reactivity-initiated accident conditions by RANNS code

Suzuki, Motoe; Saito, Hiroaki*; Fuketa, Toyoshi

Nuclear Engineering and Design, 236(2), p.128 - 139, 2006/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2005.07.009

A computer code RANNS was developed to analyze fuel rod behaviors in the RIA conditions. The code performs thermal and FEM-mechanical calculation for a single rod in axis-symmetric geometry to predict temperature profile, PCMI contact pressure, stress-strain distribution and their interactions. An experimental analysis by RANNS begins with pre-test conditions of irradiated rod which are given by FEMAXI-6. Analysis was performed on the simulated RIA experiments in NSRR, FK-10 and FK-12, of high burnup BWR rods in a cold start-up conditions, and PCMI process was discussed extensively. It was revealed that pellet thermal expansion dominates cladding deformation and subjects the cladding to bi-axial stress state, and thermal expansion in the cladding makes the stress in the inner region significantly lower than that in the outer region. Simulation calculations with wider pulses were carried out and the resulted cladding hoop stress was compared with the failure stress estimated in the NSRR experiments.

Stress analysis of two-dimensional C/C composite components for HTGR's core restraint mechanism

Hanawa, Satoshi; Sumita, Junya; Shibata, Taiju; Ishihara, Masahiro; Iyoku, Tatsuo; Sawa, Kazuhiro

Transactions of 18th International Conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology (SMiRT-18), p.600 - 605, 2005/08

no abstracts in English

Investigation of hydride rim effect on failure of Zircaloy-4 cladding with tube burst test

Nagase, Fumihisa; Fuketa, Toyoshi

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 42(1), p.58 - 65, 2005/01

https://doi.org/10.3327/jnst.42.58

Tube burst tests have been performed with artificially hydrided Zircaloy-4 specimens at room temperature and at 620 K. Pressurization rate was increased to a maximum of 3.4 GPa/s in order to simulate rapid PCMI that occurs in high burnup fuel rods during a pulse-irradiation in the NSRR. Hydrogen content in the specimens ranged from 150 to 1050 ppm. Hydrides were accumulated in the cladding periphery and formed "hydride rim" as observed in high burnup PWR fuel claddings. The hydrided cladding tubes failed with an axial crack at the room temperature tests. Brittle fracture appeared in the hydride rim, and failure morphology was similar to that observed in the NSRR experiments. The hydrides rim obviously reduced burst pressure and residual hoop strain at the tests. The residual hoop strain was very small even at 620 K when thickness of the hydride rim exceeded 18% of cladding thickness. The present result accordingly indicates an important role of the hydrides layer in high burnup fuel rod failure under RIA conditions.