NSUF 18-1134: Understanding the Mechanism of Thermal-Hydraulic Enhancement On Gamma Irradiated Nuclear Materials Interfaces
The impact of Radiation Induced Surface Activation (RISA) on Critical Heat Flux (CHF), Leidenfrost temperature and two-phase dynamics due to exposure of heated surface to gamma radiation has been demonstrated previously, but is not well understood. Test results thus far imply that there may be more thermal-hydraulic margin available in the nuclear reactor environment compared to the empirical correlations used to license Light Water Reactors (LWRs) based on out-of-pile thermal hydraulics testing (~20% enhancement in CHF). Specifically, the two-phase thermal-hydraulic performance of fuel cladding and vessel walls are of importance. Currently, such effect is ignored in the modeling and simulation tools. As part of this Rapid Turnaournd Experiment a subset of samples currently in possession of MIT will undergo gamma radiation and surface characterization at the Sandia National Lab Gamma Irradiation Facility (GIF). The surface characterization includes contact angle measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), and Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS). The irradiations are expected to take place in 3 weeks starting January of 2018. The current inventory of samples at MIT includes: oxidized and unoxidized Zircaloy-4, Chromium, Carbon-Steel, Stainless steel, FeCrAl alloy, Molybdenum and Silicon-Carbide. The primarily focus of this work is to understand the mechanism behind RISA with respect of LWR radiation environment for Zircaloy-4 (fuel cladding) and Stainless Steel (Inner Vessel). The outcome of the work is focused on the mechanism at which gamma irradiation impacts surface energy. The results will likely lead to more expansive future work to quantify the impact of additional margin provided by RISA from the accident management point of view. Additionally, the results will be published in a journal manuscript due to novelty of the proposed work.
Additional Info
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Abstract | The impact of Radiation Induced Surface Activation (RISA) on Critical Heat Flux (CHF), Leidenfrost temperature and two-phase dynamics due to exposure of heated surface to gamma radiation has been demonstrated previously, but is not well understood. Test results thus far imply that there may be more thermal-hydraulic margin available in the nuclear reactor environment compared to the empirical correlations used to license Light Water Reactors (LWRs) based on out-of-pile thermal hydraulics testing (~20% enhancement in CHF). Specifically, the two-phase thermal-hydraulic performance of fuel cladding and vessel walls are of importance. Currently, such effect is ignored in the modeling and simulation tools. As part of this Rapid Turnaournd Experiment a subset of samples currently in possession of MIT will undergo gamma radiation and surface characterization at the Sandia National Lab Gamma Irradiation Facility (GIF). The surface characterization includes contact angle measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), and Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS). The irradiations are expected to take place in 3 weeks starting January of 2018. The current inventory of samples at MIT includes: oxidized and unoxidized Zircaloy-4, Chromium, Carbon-Steel, Stainless steel, FeCrAl alloy, Molybdenum and Silicon-Carbide. The primarily focus of this work is to understand the mechanism behind RISA with respect of LWR radiation environment for Zircaloy-4 (fuel cladding) and Stainless Steel (Inner Vessel). The outcome of the work is focused on the mechanism at which gamma irradiation impacts surface energy. The results will likely lead to more expansive future work to quantify the impact of additional margin provided by RISA from the accident management point of view. Additionally, the results will be published in a journal manuscript due to novelty of the proposed work. |
| Award Announced Date | 2018-02-01T14:10:09.337 |
| Awarded Institution | None |
| Facility | None |
| Facility Tech Lead | Michael Starr |
| Irradiation Facility | None |
| PI | Koroush Shirvan |
| PI Email | [email protected] |
| Project Type | RTE |
| RTE Number | 1134 |