Behavior of FeCrAl-ODS cladding tube under loss-of-coolant accident conditions

成川 隆文; 近藤 啓悦; 藤村 由希; 垣内 一雄; 宇田川 豊; 根本 義之

Journal of Nuclear Materials, 582, p.154467_1 - 154467_12, 2023/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2023.154467

To evaluate the behavior of an oxide-dispersion-strengthened FeCrAl (FeCrAl-ODS) cladding tube under loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) conditions of light-water reactors (LWRs), the following two laboratory-scale LOCA-simulated tests were performed: the burst and integral thermal shock tests. Four burst and three integral thermal shock tests were performed on unirradiated, stress-relieved FeCrAl-ODS cladding tube specimens, simulating ballooning and rupture, oxidation, and quenching, which were postulated during a LOCA. The burst temperature of the FeCrAl-ODS cladding tube was 200-300 K higher than that of the Zircaloy cladding tube, and the FeCrAl-ODS cladding tube's maximum circumferential strain was smaller than or equal to the Zircaloy-4 cladding tube. These results indicate that the FeCrAl-ODS cladding tube has higher strength at high temperatures than the conventional Zircaloy cladding tube. The FeCrAl-ODS cladding tube did not fracture after being subjected to an axial restraint load of 5000 N, which is more than 10 times higher than the axial restraint load estimated for existing LWRs, during quenching, following isothermal oxidation at 1473 K for 1 h. The FeCrAl-ODS cladding tube was hardly oxidized during this isothermal oxidation condition. However, it melted after a short oxidation at 1673 K and fractured after abnormal oxidation at 1573 K for 1 h. Based on these results, the FeCrAl-ODS cladding tube should not fracture in the time range expected during LOCAs below 1473 K, where no melting or abnormal oxidation occurs.