Abstract
Mechanical properties and creep resistance are among the
key issues in the selection of fuel cladding materials
for future Gen-IV nuclear reactor applications. As for
today's nuclear reactors, the Fukushima accident has
increased the interest in accident-tolerant fuel cladding
materials. Thin-walled fuel cladding tubes may exhibit
anisotropic creep properties due to the manufacturing
process. A newly developed Pneumatic Loading Apparatus
(PLA) is capable of testing the multiaxial creep
properties of thin-walled tubular specimens with internal
pressure and an additional axial force. Because of its
innovative design, the PLA is moveable and can be
implemented in testing in extreme environments. The
system functionality and accuracy was demonstrated by two
biaxial creep tests performed on austenitic stainless
steel DIN 1.4970 and E110 zirconium alloy specimens. Both
materials showed anisotropic creep behavior and the PLA
testing concept and equipment proved its capability to
perform reliably and accurately biaxial creep testing of
fuel cladding materials.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 227-240 |
| Journal | Athens Journal of Sciences |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Publication status | Published - 2016 |
| MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Keywords
- fuel cladding
- mechanical testing
- multiaxial creep
- nuclear reactor
- pneumatic loading apparatus