Accident tolerant fecral fuel cladding: current status towards commercialization

Abstract

FeCrAl alloys are rapidly becoming mature candidate alloys for accident tolerant fuel applications. The FeCrAl material class has shown excellent oxidation resistance in high-temperature steam environments, a key aspect of any accident tolerant cladding concept, while also being corrosion resistant, stress corrosion cracking (SCC) resistant, irradiation-induced swelling resistant, weldable, and formable. Current research efforts are focused on design, development and commercial scaling of advanced FeCrAl alloys including large-scale, thin-walled seamless tube production followed by a broad spectrum of degradation evaluations in both normal and off-normal conditions. Included in this discussion is the theoretical analysis of the alloying principles and rules, alloy composition design, and overview of the most recent empirical database on possible degradation phenomena for FeCrAl alloys. The results are derived from extensive in-pile and out-of-pile experiments and form the basis for near-term deployment of a lead-test rod and/or assembly within a commercially operating nuclear power plant.

Publication
In: Minerals, Metals and Materials Series, pp. 1381–1389

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