NSUF 24-4884: Investigating the effect of Te embrittlement and depleted Uranium on IN617 in molten salt conditions

The objective of the work is to investigate the role of fission product Te on the embrittlement of salt-facing materials in the molten salt reactor conditions including the chemical effects of depleted Uranium. Alloy 617, ASME code-approved material in cold worked condition, after surface grinding, was exposed to FLiNaK with varying concentrations of Te (0.1 and 10 wt.%) at 800 °C for 100 h. After the exposure, the samples were characterized under scanning electron microscopy (SEM) prior to and post-tensile testing at room temperature. Further characterization of the samples with secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and Atom Probe Tomography (APT) will help locate and quantify the presence of Te in the microstructure. This has been a bottleneck in understanding the mechanism involved in the initiation and propagation of the cracking due to the embrittlement caused by Te in the molten salt. A recent work by McAlpine investigated cracking at the grain boundaries, however, did not find the presence of Te. SIMS will aid in the sputtering of atoms from the alloy surface, necessary to search for the presence of the Te in the grain boundaries. The locations of grain boundaries exhibiting with Te trace will then be prepared for APT. APT will allow for the determination of i) size, ii) number density, and most importantly iii) composition of Te-rich regions at or near the grain boundary. The expected period of project performance is about 6- months. The sample preparation for APT will take no more than 3-4 months. The data collection for APT samples is expected to take about 3 weeks. Data analysis and reporting will take 2 months from the date of initial data collection. Results will help unravel the crack initiation and propagation mechanism. This knowledge is important to determine the property degradation of alloy 617 and to strategize the development of new or modified materials that can sustain the severe conditions in the molten salt reactor for advanced reactor technologies.

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필드	값
Award Announced Date	2024-02-02T12:35:58.483
Awarded Institution	University of Michigan
Facility Tech Lead	Alina Montrose
Irradiation Facility
PI	Mohammad Umar Farooq Khan
PI Email	[email protected]
Project Type	RTE
RTE Number	None