PNNL

Abstract

Laser Raman spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to study the evolution of composition of oxide films in the presence of zirconia coatings on miniature HT-9 alloy specimens subjected to elevated temperature in air. The experiments expanded on previous efforts to develop a quick-screening technique for candidate alloys for cladding materials (HT-9) and actinide-based mixed oxide fuel mixtures (represented by the zirconia coating) by investigating the effect of both coating composition and alloy pretreatment conditions on the high temperature reactions. In particular, the presence of the element Ga (a potential impurity in mixed oxide fuel) in the initial zirconia coating was found to accelerate the rate of oxide growth relative to that of yttria-stabilized zirconia studied previously. In addition, HT-9 samples that were subjected to different thermal pretreatments gave different results. The results suggest that the presence of Ga in a mixed oxide fuel will enhance the corrosion of HT-9 cladding under the conditions of this study, although the extent of enhancement is influenced by thermal pretreatment of the cladding material. The results also demonstrate the need to combine Raman spectroscopy with other techniques, particularly photoelectron spectroscopy, for optimizing composition and/or fabrication conditions of both cladding and oxide fuels for advanced nuclear reactors.