Ion Irradiation and Characterization of FeCrAl Oxide Dispersion Strengthend Alloy Manufactured via Laser Powder Bed Fusion
Principal Investigator
- Name:
- Somayeh Pasebani
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- (208) 526-6918
Team Members:
| Name: | Institution: | Expertise: | Status: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aida Amroussia | |||
| Philip Edmondson | |||
| Somayeh Pasebani | Oregon State University | Additive Manufacturing | Faculty |
| Lin Shao | Texas A&M University | Sensors, Steels, Void Swelling, Nuclear materials | Faculty |
| Tianyi Chen | Oregon State University | Molecular Dynamics, Accelerator, High Temperature Material, Irradiated Microstructure, electron backscatter diffraction, diffraction, fracture mechanics, interface mechanics and engineering, Ion Beam Irradiation, Electron Microscopy | Faculty |
| Ramprashad Prabhakaran | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | Mechanical Properties, friction stir welding, Small-Scale Mechanical Testing, Advanced Fuels, Irradiation Damage Behavior, Fuel Cladding | Other |
Experiment Details:
- Experiment Title:
- Ion Irradiation and Characterization of FeCrAl Oxide Dispersion Strengthend Alloy Manufactured via Laser Powder Bed Fusion )
- Hypothesis:
- FeCrAl ODS alloy was successfully manufactured via LPBF process and samples were well-characterized, and results have been published by PI’s group. The advantage of LPBF manufactured FeCrAl ODS alloy is higher hardness, and reduced supply chain and manufacturing steps (by eliminating the need for ball milling, hot consolidations and machining). However, the irradiation response of additively manufactured FeCrAl ODS is unknown. For nuclear applications, it is essential to understand the micro
- Work Description:
- Ion irradiation: For this project, 3.0 MV NEC tandem accelerator at TAMU will be used for high dpa Fe self-ion irradiation. Irradiation will be performed in a high vacuum chamber along the beam line equipped with liquid nitrogen trap and multiple beam deflection setups for filtering contaminants. Samples will be irradiated at two temperatures of 300C (for light water reactor) and 600°C ( for fast reactors) by 5 MeV Fe self-ions for doses equivalent to 25, 50 and 100 dpa. The doses will be determined by using SRIM code under KP mode. Material T: 300C and 600C Conventionally manufactured FeCrAl Dose: 25, 50 and 100 dpa LPBF manufactured FeCrAl ODS Dose: 25, 50 and 100 dpa PIE plan: The following is the detailed description of the PIE plan for all major tasks: Task 1: Perform nanoindentation of ion irradiated ODS FeCrAl alloy at CAES - Nanoindentation will be performed to evaluate the mechanical properties on samples (control samples: 2, irradiated samples: 12). Task 2: Perform TEM characterization of ion irradiated ODS FeCrAl alloy at CAES - FIB at CAES will be used to prepare TEM lamellas from eight samples (control samples: 2, irradiated samples: 12). - TEM evaluations at CAES will focus on phase stability, compositional changes, grains, grain boundary morphology, oxide particles, second phase evolution, defect clusters including small dislocation loops, dislocations, voids, precipitates and other relevant features; STEM imaging, EDS mapping. Task 3: Understand the effect of ion irradiated ODS FeCrAl alloy at CAES - Efforts will be made to understand the effect of ion irradiation on additively manufactured ODS FeCrAl and to successfully develop appropriate processing-structure-property-dose correlations. - Understand the microstructural evolution of ODS FeCrAl alloy and the concomitant changes in mechanical properties after irradiation to be considered for nuclear applications.
Project Summary
FeCrAl alloys are accident tolerant fuel (ATF) claddings due to superior oxidation/corrosion resistance and high induced swelling resistance at the high-temperature steam environments and/or high irradiation. Additive manufacturing was used (laser powder bed fusion) to manufacture net shape FeCrAl ODS alloy with reduced supply chain and production steps. Microstructure and mechanical properties of produced FeCrAL ODS are characterized and revealed the presence of nanoparticles enriched in Y-Al-O in the matrix. Microhardness values were superior to the wrought counterparts. Additively manufactured FeCrAl ODS alloy will be ion irradiated and characterized to identify the irradiation performance of such alloy.
Relevance
Program Relevance Abstract: FeCrAl alloy class has exceptional high-temperature oxidation resistance, showing the potential to have enhanced accident tolerance for nuclear power applications. In addition, advanced nuclear reactors such as the Westinghouse eVinci microreactor are also proposing the usage of this alloy at elevated temperatures up to 700ºC. Nuclear-grade FeCrAl and FeCrAl-ODS alloys are being developed and optimized under the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Nuclear Energy, Advanced Fuel Campaign of the Fuel Cycle R&D (FCRD) program. Although several candidates have been optimized for their mechanical properties in normal operation temperature and accident tolerance at elevated temperatures, the evaluation of their radiation response is insufficient. Manufacturing FeCrAl ODS alloys by means of additive manufacturing enable novel application and rapid development of this class of alloys. The different microstructure of the AM alloys requires a fundamental understanding of their radiation responses. This proposed study will thus fill in the aforementioned knowledge gap by investigating the effects of irradiation on additively manufactured FeCrAl ODS alloys of nuclear-application interests.
Research Report