NSUF 25-5285: Probing the Effects of Temperature, Radiation, and Fuel Cladding Chemical Interaction on Irradiated HT-9 Cladding via In-Situ Micro-Tensile Testing

Current HT-9 creep and deformation models in the BISON framework consistently predict unacceptable discrepancies between simulated and experimentally observed HT-9 cladding behavior due to a lack of experimental data at prototypical reactor conditions. Critical factors that must be considered for more accurate cladding prediction include fuel-cladding chemical interaction (FCCI), precipitate evolution, intermetallic phase formation, and radiation damage. To obtain mechanical property information more relevant to simulations used to predict in-pile fuel-cladding behavior, this work consists of micro-tensile tests on the HT-9 cladding of a U-10Zr fuel irradiated to a burnup of 8.1 at. % with a peak inner cladding temperature of 612°C in the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) in addition to a sample of fresh, unirradiated HT-9 at both room-temperature and high-temperature (600°C) followed by advanced transmission electron microscopy characterization of deformed specimens. This experiment will help define prototypical mechanical properties of HT-9 cladding, clarify temperature and radiation effects on mechanical properties, and highlight structure-property relationships in the bulk and FCCI-affected regions of HT-9. Ultimately, the development of more robust fuel performance models used for qualifying HT-9 clad U-Zr-based fuels will benefit from this work.

Anformazio gehigarria

Eremua	Balorea
Award Announced Date	2025-08-06T10:09:48.333
Awarded Institution	University of Florida
Facility Tech Lead	Alina Montrose
Irradiation Facility
PI	Bao-Phong Nguyen
PI Email	[email protected]
Project Type	RTE
RTE Number	None