NSUF 25-5518: Investigating Interfacial Phenomena in Commercially and Test Reactor Irradiated Cr-Coated Zr Cladding
This project is directly relevant to the DOE-NE mission and specifically the Advanced Fuels Campaign (AFC) program, which aims to expand nuclear energy by increasing the economic performance of the fuel. As both a protective mechanism for loss of coolant accident (LOCA) conditions, and as a transition to high-enriched/high-burnup (HBHE) LWR fuel types, Cr-coated cladding is a leading candidate advanced fuel cladding design. Westinghouse Electric Company (WEC) has developed a manufacturing process by which Cr powder is deposited via cold spray (CS) onto a Zr-alloy fuel cladding, then polished to the final thickness. Due to the nature of the solid-state bonding CS process, a thin intermixed bonding region (IBR) is formed at the Cr/Zr interface from the combination of high shear and temperature during the deposition process. The objectives of this project are to 1) investigate the effect of commercial and test reactor irradiation on the Cr/Zr interfacial layer of cold-sprayed (CS) Cr-coated LWR fuel cladding; 2) investigate the impact of transient conditions on irradiated Cr/Zr interface; and 3) correlate the evolution of the Cr/Zr interface post-irradiation to changes in the burst performance of coated cladding. The scientific outcome of this project will be an increased understanding in the fundamental mechanisms of microstructural evolution in an industry-relevant material system. This will facilitate the adoption of a key component of the DOE-AFC’s mission to expand nuclear energy by improving safety, performance, and efficiency in current reactor systems.
Additional Info
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Awarded Institution | Westinghouse Electric Company |
| DOI | 10.46936/NSUF/60015717 |
| Embargo End Date | 2028-01-22 |
| Facility Tech Lead | Kory Linton, Mukesh Bachhav |
| NSUF Call | FY 2025 Super RTE Call |
| PI | Caleb Clement |
| PIE Facilities | Microscopy and Characterization Suite |
| Prep Facilities | Irradiated Fuels Examination Laboratory, Low Activation Materials Design and Analysis Laboratory, Microscopy and Characterization Suite |
| Project Member | Dr. Mukesh Bachhav, Staff Scientist - Idaho National Laboratory (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8104-6032) |
| Project Member | Dr. Caleb Clement, Materials Engineer - Westinghouse Electric Company (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8757-3914) |
| Project Member | Dr. Sam Bell, Research Associate - Oak Ridge National Laboratory (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5190-5657) |
| Project Type | RTE |