Irradiation Influence on Alloys Fabricated by Powder Metallurgy and Hot Isostatic Pressing for Nuclear Applications

Principal Investigator
Name:
Janelle Wharry
Email:
[email protected]
Phone:
(208) 526-6918
Team Members:
Name: Institution: Expertise: Status:
Yinbin Miao Argonne National Laboratory
David Gandy Electric Power Research Institute n/a Other
Assel Aitkaliyeva University of Florida Mechanical Properties, Microstructure-Property Relationship, Nuclear Fuel Other
Clinton Armstrong Westinghouse Electric Company Additive Manufacturing, Welding, Advanced Manufacturing, PM-HIP, Machining Other
Michael Preuss University of Manchester n/a Other
Experiment Details:
Experiment Title:
Irradiation Influence on Alloys Fabricated by Powder Metallurgy and Hot Isostatic Pressing for Nuclear Applications)
Work Description:
Advanced Methods for Manufacturing (AMM)
Project Summary
Manufacturing processes have considerable influence over the safety and integrity of nuclear reactor vessels and internal components. Established processes such as casting, plate rolling-and-welding, forging, drawing, and extrusion, have been used to fabricate structural and pressure-retaining materials used in the nuclear power industry for the past 60 years. However, issues of weldability, inspectability, and casting defects such as porosity, continue to challenge the manufacture of reactor vessels and internals, enhancing their susceptibility to degradation and failure. Reactor vessels and internals are subject to harsh service environments that combine high radiation fluence, high temperature, and mechanical stress, which accelerate material degradation. The most extreme degradation often occurs in weldments and poor-quality components that were inadequately inspected. Advanced reactor designs and life extensions to the existing fleet of light water reactors (LWRs) will further exacerbate materials degradation issues by increasing the duty on reactor internals. Thus, developing reliable manufacturing processes to ensure high-quality weldments and inspections can be performed, is of great importance to the continued safety and operation of nuclear power plants. Recently, alloys produced by powder metallurgy and hot isostatic pressing (PM-HIP) have successfully been developed and introduced for structural pressure-retaining applications in the electric power industry [1]. These PM-HIP components exhibit excellent structural uniformity, no chemical segregation, superior mechanical properties, and enhanced weldability. In addition, PM-HIP components are produced near-net shape, which offers the distinct advantages of minimizing machining and enhancing the ease of component inspectability. Components fabricated by PM-HIP are also lower-cost and higher quality than those fabricated by casting, owing to their reduced porosity and weight. Because of their exceptional properties, PM-HIP alloys have attracted the interest of the nuclear power industry as potential structural materials for LWRs, advanced light water reactors (ALWRs), small modular reactors (SMRs), and advanced (e.g. Generation IV) reactors. But little is known about the irradiation response of PM-HIP alloys, and even more critically, existing data do not elucidate the differences in irradiation response between PM-HIP and conventional alloys. This project seeks to understand these irradiation effects through a systematic neutron irradiation campaign and post-irradiation microstructural and mechanical assessments. The objective of this project is to assess the viability of using alloys manufactured by PMHIP for nuclear reactor internals, in order to enhance the quality, weldability, and inspectability of these components. Improving the manufacturing processes for reactor internals will have crosscutting impact across all DOE-NE programs. This project will compare the irradiation response of six PM-HIP and conventionally manufactured alloys commonly used in LWR internals, or which are candidates for ALWR and SMR internals, having relevance to all DOE-NE base programs. This project will also supplement ongoing DOE Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies (DOE-NEET) research on Innovative Manufacturing Process for Nuclear Power Plant Components via Powder Metallurgy and Hot Isostatic Processing Methods (DE-NE000054). Several original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are exploring PM-HIP techniques for reactor internals. Along with additional industry and university partners, they have provided input to the proposed workscope and will serve on the Industrial Advisory Board for this project. Furthermore, use of PM-HIP technology will help re-establish nuclear manufacturing in the United States.
Book / Journal Publications

"Comparative Thermal Aging Effects on PM-HIP and Forged Inconel 690" Keyou Mao, David Gandy, Janelle Wharry, JOM 70 2018 2218-2223 Link

"Thermal Aging and the Hall–Petch Relationship of PM-HIP and Wrought Alloy 625" Janelle Wharry, Keyou Mao, David Gandy, Elizabeth Getto, JOM 71 2019 2837 Link

"Comparison of ion irradiation effects in PM-HIP and forged alloy 625" Caleb Clement, Yangyang Zhao, Patrick Warren, Xiang Liu, Sichuang Xue, David Gandy, Janelle Wharry, Journal of Nuclear Materials 558 2022 Link

"Experiment design for the neutron irradiation of PM-HIP alloys for nuclear reactors" Donna Guillen, Janelle Wharry, Gregory Housley, Cody Hale, Jason Brookman, David Gandy, Nuclear Engineering and Design 402 2023 Link

"Comparing structure-property evolution for PM-HIP and forged Alloy 625 irradiated with neutrons to 1 " Janelle Wharry, Caleb Clement, Sri Sowmya Panuganti, Patrick Warren, Yangyang Zhao, Yu Lu, Katelyn (Wheeler) Baird, David Frazer, Donna Guillen, David Gandy, Materials Science & Engineering A 857 2022 144058 Link

"Comparing structure-property evolution for PM-HIP and forged alloy 625 irradiated with neutrons to 1 dpa" Caleb Clement, Caleb Clement, Yangyang Zhao, Yu Lu, David Frazer, Donna Guillen, David Gandy, Janelle Wharry, Materials Science and Engineering: A 857 0 Link

"Comparison of PM-HIP to forged SA508 pressure vessel steel under high-dose neutron irradiation" Janelle Wharry, Wen Jiang, Yangyang Zhao, Yu Lu, David Frazer, Donna Guillen, David Gandy, Journal of Nuclear Materials 594 2024 155018 Link

"Materials qualification through the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF): A case study on irradiated PM-HIP structural alloys" Janelle Wharry, Donna Guillen, Caleb Clement, Saquib Bin Habib, Wen Jiang, Yu Lu, Yaqiao Wu, Ching-Heng Shiau, David Frazer, Brenden Heidrich, Collin Knight, David Gandy, Frontiers in Nuclear Engineering 2 2023 1306529 Link

"Unexpected deformation-induced martensitic phase transformations in Ni-Cr alloys and Ni-Cr-Fe alloys" Janelle Wharry, Caleb Clement, Chao Yang, Materials Science & Engineering A 892 2024 146029 Link

"In situ tensile study of PM-HIP and wrought 316L stainless steel and Inconel 625 alloys with high energy diffraction microscopy" Janelle Wharry, Donna Guillen, Elizabeth Getto, Darren Pagan, Materials Science & Engineering A 738 2018 380-388 Link

Conference Publications

"Neutron Irradiation of Nuclear Structural Materials Fabricated by Powder Metallurgy with Hot Isostatic Pressing" David Gandy, Donna Guillen, Janelle Wharry, 2017 ANS Annual Meeting [unknown]