Niobium as an alternative cladding material for neutron producing targets: Analysis of erosion response

IF 6.1 1区工程技术 Q1 ENGINEERING, MECHANICAL

Wear Pub Date : 2025-08-11 DOI:10.1016/j.wear.2025.206291

H.M.L.U. Madhuwanthi , Y.P. Purandare , A.P. Ehiasarian , A. Dey , L. Jones , S. Gallimore

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Abstract

The current design of neutron producing spallation targets (TS2) at ISIS constitutes a Tungsten (W) core cladded with a thin Tantalum (Ta) sleeve which facilitates circulation of cooling water. These targets are undergoing premature failure due to erosion-corrosion of the Ta sleeve as one of the primary causes. This has drawn attention towards sourcing alternative cladding materials and Niobium (Nb) is potentially seen as a candidate. However, the aqueous slurry erosion response of Nb is unreported and needs scrutiny. In this work, slurry erosion performance of Nb was studied with the help of an impinging jet erosion-corrosion apparatus. Aims included measuring erosion rate of Nb with respect to abrasive particle concentration, slurry velocity, and slurry impingement angle including determining erosion mechanisms. Results revealed peak erosion rate at a slurry impingement angle of 30°, and for velocities of 6 ms⁻¹ having a particle concentration of 7 wt%. The material removal mechanism involved a dominating ploughing and type-1 micro-cutting action at shallow angles of impact as compared to formation and breakage of platelets due to a ‘plastic deformation-fatigue’ dominated wear mechanism at near normal impact angles. The erosion response of Nb thus could be described as one typically observed for ductile materials. Experiments were also performed to analyse the cavitation erosion resistance of Nb using an ultrasonic vibratory apparatus (sonotrode) in de-ionised water to complement impinging slurry jet studies.

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铌作为一种可选的中子靶包层材料：侵蚀响应分析

ISIS目前设计的产生中子散裂靶（TS2）由钨(W)芯和薄钽（Ta）套管组成，以促进冷却水的循环。由于Ta套的侵蚀腐蚀是主要原因之一，这些靶层正在经历过早失效。这引起了人们对寻找替代包层材料的关注，铌（Nb）可能被视为候选材料。然而，Nb的水浆侵蚀反应尚未报道，需要仔细研究。本文利用冲击射流冲蚀仪研究了铌的浆液冲蚀性能。目的包括测量Nb在磨料颗粒浓度、料浆速度和料浆撞击角方面的侵蚀速率，包括确定侵蚀机制。结果显示，当料浆撞击角为30°时，颗粒浓度为7 wt%，速度为6 ms−1时，侵蚀速率达到峰值。材料的去除机制包括在浅冲击角度下主要的犁耕和1型微切削作用，而在接近正常冲击角度下，由于“塑性变形-疲劳”主导的磨损机制，薄片的形成和破裂。因此，Nb的侵蚀响应可以描述为典型的延性材料。在去离子水中使用超声振动装置（超声电极）分析Nb的抗空化侵蚀能力，以补充撞击浆射流研究。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Wear 工程技术-材料科学：综合

CiteScore

8.80

自引率

8.00%

发文量

280

审稿时长

47 days

期刊介绍： Wear journal is dedicated to the advancement of basic and applied knowledge concerning the nature of wear of materials. Broadly, topics of interest range from development of fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of wear to innovative solutions to practical engineering problems. Authors of experimental studies are expected to comment on the repeatability of the data, and whenever possible, conduct multiple measurements under similar testing conditions. Further, Wear embraces the highest standards of professional ethics, and the detection of matching content, either in written or graphical form, from other publications by the current authors or by others, may result in rejection.