Stress Corrosion Cracking of Nuclear Transmutation Structural Materials

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2004

Publication Title

Materials Performance

Volume

43

Issue

9

First page number:

52

Last page number:

56

Abstract

The disposal of high-level radioactive waste poses a severe challenge to all nuclear power-generating nations. The transmutation of nuclear waste, which is used in Europe, has been proposed for use in the U.S. to eliminate long-lived actinides and fission products from spent nuclear fuel. This article presents the results of stress corrosion cracking studies performed in neutral and acidic solutions at ambient and elevated temperatures, using both constant-load and slow-strain-rate testing techniques on martensitic alloys EP-823 and HT-9, and type 422 stainless steel (UNS S42200). Any of these alloys can act as a structural material to contain the molten lead-bismuth eutectic target, which also can be used as a coolant during the transmutation process. This article also discusses the extent and morphology of failures, as analyzed by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.

Keywords

Martensitic stainless steel; Radioactive wastes – Transmutation; Spent reactor fuels; Strains and stresses; Stress corrosion

Disciplines

Materials Science and Engineering | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanics of Materials | Metallurgy | Nuclear Engineering

Language

English

Permissions

Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the item. Publisher policy does not allow archiving the final published version. If a post-print (author's peer-reviewed manuscript) is allowed and available, or publisher policy changes, the item will be deposited


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