An issue of current interest to PWRs is the possibility that void swelling of austenitic near-core internal components may exert some deleterious effect on component functionality, particularly during extended operation to 60 years. A similar concern has also been raised for water-cooled fusion devices. One question of particular interest is the range of temperature over which void swelling can occur, since the internal components experience temperatures from ~290 to perhaps as high as 390 degrees C in some limited locations. This question was addressed using a flow restrictor component from the low-flux breeder zone of the BN-350 fast reactor in Kazakhstan. This component was constructed of annealed 12X18H10T, an alloy similar to AISI 321 which is used in Russian reactors for applications where AISI 304L would be used in comparable Western and Japanese reactors. Extensive sectioning to produce 114 separate specimens, followed by examination of the radiation-induced microstructure showed that void swelling in the range of temperatures and dpa rates of PWR interest occurs down to ~305 degrees C. At 330 degrees C the swelling reached ~1% at 20 dpa. Comparison of these data with other published results from Russian LWR reactors at
Revised: January 17, 2011 |
Published: March 31, 2002
Citation
Porollo S.I., Y.V. Konobeev, A.M. Dvoriashin, V.M. Krigan, and F.A. Garner. 2002.Determination of the Lower Temperature Limit of Void Swelling of Stainless Steels at Relatively Low Displacement Rates. In Fusion Materials: Semi-Annual Progress Report Ending June 30, 2001. 111-126. Washington Dc:DOE Office of Fusion Energy Sciences.PNNL-SA-31898.