Christopher Petersson , Peter Szakalos , Rachel Pettersson , Mats Lundberg
{"title":"Influence of liquid lead and lead-bismuth eutectic on three alumina forming austenitic (AFA) steels through slow strain rate testing","authors":"Christopher Petersson , Peter Szakalos , Rachel Pettersson , Mats Lundberg","doi":"10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155415","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155415","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Liquid metal embrittlement (LME) in three newly developed alumina-forming austenitic (AFA) alloys, two 50 kg batches and one 5-ton heat, was studied in the temperature range 350–600 °C in liquid Pb and 140–600 °C in LBE using slow strain rate testing (SSRT) in a low-oxygen environment. No significant decrease in the engineering strain was observed in either environment. However, the presence of secondary cracks along the length of the specimen and brittle intergranular areas on the fracture surfaces indicates that the AFA alloys do show a minor degree of embrittlement above 570 °C. This appears to be related to grain boundary wetting by Pb/LBE. At temperatures below 570 °C, this wetting effect does not seem to be strong enough to induce LME in the alloys, and their ability to form a sufficiently protective oxide means that they remain unaffected by LME. The results indicate that the AFA alloy group can perform sufficiently well in liquid Pb/LBE environments, and long-term testing should be carried out to determine their viability as candidate materials for use in Pb- and LBE-based cooling systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":373,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nuclear Materials","volume":"603 ","pages":"Article 155415"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142432451","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
William E. Frazier, Yucheng Fu, Lei Li, Ram Devanathan
{"title":"Dynamic data-driven multiscale modeling for predicting the degradation of a 316L stainless steel nuclear cladding material","authors":"William E. Frazier, Yucheng Fu, Lei Li, Ram Devanathan","doi":"10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155429","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155429","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We have developed a long short-term memory stacked ensemble (LSTM-SE) surrogate modeling approach that can provide rapid predictions of microstructural evolution and the resultant mechanical properties of American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) 316L series stainless steel (SS316L) fuel cladding under conditions of varying temperature and radiation dose rate. To acquire training data, we developed and implemented a kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) model to simulate precipitation kinetics of M<sub>23</sub>C<sub>6</sub>, γ’, and G phases within SS316L cladding. Experimentally reported precipitation kinetics of SS316L in literature were linked to the kinetic parameters of the simulated precipitation in our KMC model. The model was then used to simulate microstructure evolution under synthetically generated treatments of varying temperature and radiation dose rate for periods of up to 3000 h. Changes in volume fraction, number density, and particle size of precipitates were recorded, and particle area fractions were correlated using statistical methods to develop the surrogate model. Simultaneously, the mechanical properties of the simulated microstructures were evaluated using microstructure-based finite element method (FEM) analysis to determine the elastic modulus, yield stress, ultimate tensile strength, and elongation to failure of the aged microstructures. Using this approach, our surrogate model can predict precipitation behavior within 0.25 % volume fraction and mechanical properties within 6 % relative error from the values predicted by the KMC and FEM models using 50 training simulations as input. The trained recurrent neural network-based model can return estimations of precipitation kinetics and mechanical properties ∼1000 times faster than the physics-based codes. This work demonstrates, as a proof of concept, that microstructural evolution under variable conditions can be predicted using a statistics-based model informed by a practicably obtainable dataset. The potential applications of this type of modeling framework are discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":373,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nuclear Materials","volume":"603 ","pages":"Article 155429"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142432458","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Q. Xu , H.Q. Guan , S.S. Huang , Z.H. Zhong , M. Miyamoto , K. Yasunaga , A. Yabuuch
{"title":"He irradiation resistance performance in CrNiCo, CrFeNiCo, and CrFeMnNiCo multi-principal element alloys","authors":"Q. Xu , H.Q. Guan , S.S. Huang , Z.H. Zhong , M. Miyamoto , K. Yasunaga , A. Yabuuch","doi":"10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155432","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155432","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this study, the He irradiation resistance of CrFeMnNiCo high-entropy alloy (HEA) and CrNiCo and CrFeNiCo medium-entropy alloys (MEAs), which have better mechanical properties than HEAs, was investigated. Thin-film samples of CrFeMnNiCo, CrNiCo, and CrFeNiCo were irradiated with up to 2 × 10<sup>20</sup> He/m<sup>2</sup> of 5 keV ions at 673, 773, and 873 K, respectively. In all samples, He bubble formation was observed when irradiated at 1–3 × 10<sup>19</sup> He/m<sup>2</sup>, which depended on the irradiation temperature. At low temperatures of 673 and 773 K, even when as the irradiation dose increased to 2 × 10<sup>20</sup> He/m<sup>2</sup>, the differences in cavity swelling due to He bubble formation among the three alloys were not large. The relative resistance (degree) to cavity swelling for the three investigated alloys was as follows: CrNiCo MEA, CrFeMnNiCo HEA, and CrFeNiCo MEA. First-principles calculation results revealed that the formation of He-di-vacancy clusters was not possible in the CrFeNiCo MEA. This is believed to be the cause of the cavity swelling decrease in the CrFeNiCo MEA. In contrast, after 2 × 10<sup>20</sup> He/m<sup>2</sup> at 873 K, the cavity swelling of the CrNiCo and CrFeNiCo MEAs, especially CrNiCo, was approximately four times higher than that of the CrFeMnNiCo HEA. It is believed that the He irradiation resistance of the MEAs deteriorated because of element segregation owing to high–temperature irradiation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":373,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nuclear Materials","volume":"603 ","pages":"Article 155432"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142432450","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xilei Duan , Xueyang Liu , Zhenghua Qian , Qiang Zhang , Lin Li , Kui Zhang , Yanbo Qiao
{"title":"Controlled growth of ruthenium dioxide nanostructures in borosilicate glass melts","authors":"Xilei Duan , Xueyang Liu , Zhenghua Qian , Qiang Zhang , Lin Li , Kui Zhang , Yanbo Qiao","doi":"10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155436","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155436","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ruthenium, a fission product generated during the fission of uranium oxide fuel in a reactor, interacts with alkali metals such as sodium in the upper layer of the cold cap, forming a sodium ruthenate intermediate (Na<sub>x</sub>Ru<sub>y</sub>O<sub>z</sub>), which promotes the crystallization of acicular RuO<sub>2</sub> within the glass melt. During vitrification, RuO<sub>2</sub> predominantly settles at the bottom of the melt owing to its high density and low solubility, significantly increasing both the conductivity and viscosity of the glass melt. Herein, the formation of Na<em><sub>x</sub></em>Ru<em><sub>y</sub></em>O<em><sub>z</sub></em>, along with the chemical reactions promoting the crystallization of RuO<sub>2</sub> in the waste glass, was comprehensively investigated. The results of X-ray diffraction and X-ray spectroscopy indicate that lamellar and granular Na<sub>3</sub>RuO<sub>4</sub> do not form directly through the reaction between NaNO<sub>3</sub> and RuO<sub>2</sub> but rather through an intermediate stage from Na<sub>2</sub>RuO<sub>4</sub>. This reaction critically affects the morphology of RuO<sub>2</sub> within the waste glass. The uncalcined mixture of NaNO<sub>3</sub> and RuO<sub>2</sub> was found to interact with the glass melt, forming granular RuO<sub>2</sub> crystals, whereas the reaction of Na<sub>3</sub>RuO<sub>4</sub> with the glass melt was found to lead to the formation of acicular RuO<sub>2</sub> crystals. The results of X-ray absorption fine structure analysis indicate that the valence state of Ru in NaRu-BSG is slightly higher than that in reference RuO<sub>2</sub>, which was attributed to the presence of trace amounts of Na<sub>3</sub>RuO<sub>4</sub> in the glass.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":373,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nuclear Materials","volume":"603 ","pages":"Article 155436"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142432551","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yi Zeng , Wanfeng Fu , Xiufu Yu , Jingguo Huang , Xing Gong , Yuanjun Sun , Jing Liu , Xiangdong Ding , Jun Sun
{"title":"Liquid metal embrittlement and fracture behavior of three Mo metals in liquid lead-bismuth eutectic","authors":"Yi Zeng , Wanfeng Fu , Xiufu Yu , Jingguo Huang , Xing Gong , Yuanjun Sun , Jing Liu , Xiangdong Ding , Jun Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155434","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155434","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this work, liquid metal embrittlement (LME) and the related fracture behavior of Mo, TZM and Mo-14Re were assessed in oxygen-saturated and -depleted LBE at 350°C by means of slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) tests. Neither tensile mechanical property data nor fractographic micrographs show strong evidence of LME. Nevertheless, the observation of deep secondary cracking at the fiber-like grain boundaries of Mo and Mo-14Re tested in LBE suggests occurrence of grain boundary wetting (GBW). Moreover, oxidation-assisted crack initiation and propagation were also identified. Both fracture modes may be a concern when Mo metals with a fiber-like grain structure are used in high-oxygen LBE environment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":373,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nuclear Materials","volume":"603 ","pages":"Article 155434"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142432454","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mengli Xiao , Han Luo , Xiao You , Hao Qin , Chunjing Liao , Yudong Xue , Xiaowu Chen , Xiangyu Zhang , Jinshan Yang , Shaoming Dong
{"title":"Hoop tensile properties and crack propagation investigation of 2D braided SiCf/SiC composite tubes: Experiments and simulations","authors":"Mengli Xiao , Han Luo , Xiao You , Hao Qin , Chunjing Liao , Yudong Xue , Xiaowu Chen , Xiangyu Zhang , Jinshan Yang , Shaoming Dong","doi":"10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155433","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155433","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>SiC<sub>f</sub>/SiC composites are promising candidates for advanced pressurized water reactors (PWRs) fuel cladding materials due to their enhanced accident tolerance. Their mechanical properties are strongly influenced by the braided structure of continuous SiC fibers. This study fabricated SiC<sub>f</sub>/SiC composite tubes with braid angles ranging from 30° to 50°, evaluating their hoop tensile properties through expansion-due-to-compression (EDC) experiments and analyzing the damage process using finite element method simulation. Results indicate that variations in braid angles significantly affect structural density, thereby impacting mechanical strength under hoop tensile stress. Increased braid angles result in smaller pore units and higher pore density, leading to local stress concentrations and varied deflections at overlapping regions. The dynamic propagation behavior of cracks was investigated through acoustic and structural nondestructive testing methods. Finite element analysis of different braid configurations highlights the pivotal role of pore units in the initiation and propagation of hoop tensile cracks. This study enhances the understanding of toughening structures in 2D braided composites and provides a theoretical basis for future accident-tolerant fuel cladding design.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":373,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nuclear Materials","volume":"603 ","pages":"Article 155433"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142432455","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Neal D. Gaffin , Kelsa B. Palomares , Justin L. Milner , Steven J. Zinkle
{"title":"Hot hydrogen testing of Mo30W matrix surrogate cermets","authors":"Neal D. Gaffin , Kelsa B. Palomares , Justin L. Milner , Steven J. Zinkle","doi":"10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155431","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155431","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>High temperature hydrogen exposure is one of the most challenging material issues for nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) fuel development. Under legacy NTP programs, ceramic-metallic (cermet) fuel forms with a refractory metal matrix and dispersed uranium dioxide (UO<sub>2</sub>) fuel particles were developed and showed promising performance following hot hydrogen testing. However, since the conclusion of those programs, established fabrication techniques, material feedstocks, and the ability to use highly enriched have been reduced or lost all together. In this study, a cermet consisting of a solid solution alloy of molybdenum with 30 wt percent tungsten (Mo30W) was fabricated using spark plasma sintering. Fabrication process parameters were selected to optimize the cermet microstructure using lessons learned from historic NTP programs. Yttria stabilized zirconia particles (50 to 70 % volumetric loading) were used as a fuel particle surrogate. To evaluate whether as-fabricated microstructures exhibited similar resilience as legacy cermet fuels to a hot hydrogen environment, samples were exposed to hot flowing hydrogen from 1920 to 2500 °C (∼2290 to 2770 K). The cermets performed well with minimal mass loss, minor to no cracking, and good retention of internal surrogate particles. Based on these findings, recommendations for future studies with Mo30W-UO<sub>2</sub> cermets as an NTP fuel form are provided.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":373,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nuclear Materials","volume":"603 ","pages":"Article 155431"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142432340","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jiuguo Deng , Wei Zhang , Mingyang Zhou , Ziyao Long , Xi Qiu , Yi Zhou , Jijun Yang
{"title":"Surface morphology evolution, microstructural response and mechanical property variation of Au-ion irradiated CrNbZrMoV, TiCrZrMoV, TiNbCrMoV, TiNbZrCrV and TiNbZrMoCr high-entropy alloy coatings","authors":"Jiuguo Deng , Wei Zhang , Mingyang Zhou , Ziyao Long , Xi Qiu , Yi Zhou , Jijun Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155430","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155430","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this work, the CrNbZrMoV, TiCrZrMoV, TiNbCrMoV, TiNbZrCrV and TiNbZrMoCr refractory high-entropy alloy (RHEA) coatings (1.67∼2.77 μm of thickness) were prepared by magnetron sputtering. Then, 6 MeV Au-ion irradiations with 2.5 × 10<sup>15</sup> to 1.0 × 10<sup>16</sup> ions/cm<sup>2</sup> fluences were performed on these coatings at 473 K, and the surface morphology, microstructure and mechanical property were investigated. The peak damage of the CrNbZrMoV, TiCrZrMoV, TiNbCrMoV, TiNbZrCrV and TiNbZrMoCr coatings under 1.0 × 10<sup>16</sup> ions/cm<sup>2</sup> fluence are 48, 48, 44, 48 and 48 dpa, respectively. The peak Au concentration of the CrNbZrMoV, TiCrZrMoV, TiNbCrMoV, TiNbZrCrV and TiNbZrMoCr coatings under 1.0 × 10<sup>16</sup> ions/cm<sup>2</sup> fluence are 4.27 × 10<sup>3</sup>, 4.12 × 10<sup>3</sup>, 4.13 × 10<sup>3</sup>, 4.16 × 10<sup>3</sup> and 4.37 × 10<sup>3</sup> appm, respectively. The surface morphology of the CrNbZrMoV, TiCrZrMoV, TiNbZrCrV and TiNbZrMoCr coatings were smoothed obviously. For BCC TiNbCrMoV coating, irradiation caused the growth of the nanocrystalline. For amorphous coatings, the crystallization occurred in the CrNbZrMoV, TiCrZrMoV and TiNbZrMoCr coatings after 2.5 × 10<sup>15</sup> fluence irradiation (≥12 dpa), while the TiNbZrCrV coating remain mainly amorphous structure after all irradiation. It was found that irradiation induced continuous crystallization occurred not only at the surface but also in the peak damage zone of the coating, and then grew inside the irradiated region. Apparent irradiation hardening was observed in all the coatings except the TiNbZrCrV coating. The structural stability of these coatings under the current irradiation condition was discussed. Preliminary study shows that the great irradiation tolerance of amorphous TiNbZrCrV coating may be related to the lowest electronegativity difference (Δχ = 0.121) and large atomic size difference (δ = 9.042 %) that stabilize the structure and inhibit atomic diffusion, respectively. These findings provide the guidance for the development of high irradiation tolerance materials for future nuclear energy applications with great structural stability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":373,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nuclear Materials","volume":"603 ","pages":"Article 155430"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142432457","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"In-situ observation of irradiation-induced amorphization on fluorapatites doped with REEs (REE = La, Nd, Sm, Tb, Er, and Lu) of various ionic radii","authors":"Xiaotian Hu, Shengming Jiang, Jiemin Zhu, Jian Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155425","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155425","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The immobilization of nuclear waste containing various actinides requires the actinide host phases to maintain long-term stability under alpha decay damage. In this study, the irradiation resistance to amorphization of fluorapatite compounds with the formula of Ca<sub>9</sub>REE(PO<sub>4</sub>)<sub>5</sub>(SiO<sub>4</sub>)F<sub>2</sub> (REE: rare earth element, REE = La, Nd, Sm, Tb, Er, and Lu) were investigated, where REEs<sup>3+</sup> with decreased ionic radii were used to simulate actinides in immobilization wastes. <em>In-situ</em> 800 keV Kr<sup>2+</sup> irradiation was performed with varying temperatures. The critical amorphization temperature, <span><math><msub><mi>T</mi><mi>c</mi></msub></math></span>, for these apatites were found to be 513.8, 503.7, 494.1, 493.7, 483.1 and 460.9 K, respectively. <span><math><msub><mi>T</mi><mi>c</mi></msub></math></span> shows a distinct decreasing trend with the decrease of ionic radii of doped REEs<sup>3+</sup>, indicating enhanced irradiation resistance. The selected REEs exhibited increasing electronegativity, which correlated with an increase in bonding ionic properties. This trend is unfavourable for the formation of a covalent network, thereby enhancing irradiation resistance. Besides, the decreased ionic radii of doped REEs<sup>3+</sup> enhanced the migration and diffusion rates of smaller REE<sup>3+</sup> after the collision cascade process. Additionally, the dopant REEs<sup>3+</sup> showed a significant preference for CaⅡ sites. This preference decreased as the ionic radius of doped REE<sup>3+</sup> and reduced the average ionic radius of CaⅠ sites. Consequently, the one-dimensional channel in apatite became larger, facilitating the rearrangement of <em>F</em><sup>−</sup> ion. This study investigated the irradiation-induced amorphization of REE-silicon doped fluorapatites and the results highlighted the importance of composition of immobilization materials on irradiation performance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":373,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nuclear Materials","volume":"603 ","pages":"Article 155425"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142432550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yichao Gong , Zhaokun Li , Junjie Li , Jianqi Qi , Longchao Zhuo , Guojun Zhang , Tiecheng Lu
{"title":"A novel preparation of porous Li2TiO3 pebbles with a distinctive structure","authors":"Yichao Gong , Zhaokun Li , Junjie Li , Jianqi Qi , Longchao Zhuo , Guojun Zhang , Tiecheng Lu","doi":"10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155424","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155424","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Optimization of the pore structure stands out as an effective approach for bolstering the tritium release performance of lithium-based tritium breeding ceramics, particularly when employing a high open porosity configuration. In this study, Li<sub>2</sub>TiO<sub>3</sub> fibers were synthesized via the hydrothermal method, with the assistance of TiO<sub>2</sub>-B nanowires acting as templates. Subsequently, porous Li<sub>2</sub>TiO<sub>3</sub> pebbles with varying microstructures were fabricated through a combination of the wet method and a sintering process. Sintering process plays a crucial role in determining the microscopic morphology. An increase in temperature resulted in a suppression of the growth of fibrous grains and the transformation of fibrous grains into quasi-spherical grains. Moreover, a two-step sintering process was proposed as a means of improving the crush load (15.9 N vs. 22.0 N) of Li<sub>2</sub>TiO<sub>3</sub> pebbles while simultaneously preserving their high porosity (24.91%). The Li<sub>2</sub>TiO<sub>3</sub> pebbles, produced by the two-step sintering process, exhibited a distinctive micromorphology characterized by interconnected particles forming short rod-shaped microstructures. This distinctive micromorphology contributes to the maintenance of a high degree of open porosity (10.52%).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":373,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nuclear Materials","volume":"603 ","pages":"Article 155424"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142359543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}