FeCrAl Alloys for Accident Tolerant Fuel Cladding in Light Water Reactors

The goal of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Accident Tolerant Fuel Program (ATF) for light water reactors (LWR) is to identify alternative fuel system technologies to further enhance the safety of commercial nuclear power plants. An ATF fuel system would endure loss of cooling in the reactor for a considerably longer period of time than the current systems. The General Electric (GE) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) ATF design concept utilizes an iron-chromium-aluminum (FeCrAl) alloy material as fuel rod cladding in combination with uranium dioxide (UO2) fuel pellets currently in use, resulting in a fuel assembly that leverages the performance of existing/current LWR fuel assembly designs and infrastructure with improved accident tolerance. Significant testing was performed in the last three years to characterize FeCrAl alloys for cladding applications, both under normal operation conditions of the reactor and under accident conditions. This article is a state of the art description of the concept.

Download Full-text

Safety evaluation report related to the Department of Energy`s proposal for the irradiation of lead test assemblies containing tritium-producing burnable absorber rods in commercial light-water reactors. Project Number 697

10.2172/491562 ◽

1997 ◽

Author(s):

Keyword(s):

Safety Evaluation ◽

Department Of Energy ◽

Light Water Reactors ◽

Evaluation Report ◽

Light Water ◽

Burnable Absorber ◽

Water Reactors

Download Full-text

Improving Nuclear Power Plant Safety with FeCrAl Alloy Fuel Cladding

MRS Advances ◽

10.1557/adv.2017.5 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2 (21-22) ◽

pp. 1217-1224 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Raul B. Rebak ◽

Kurt A. Terrani ◽

William P. Gassmann ◽

John B. Williams ◽

Kevin L. Ledford

Keyword(s):

Nuclear Power ◽

National Laboratory ◽

Alloy System ◽

Department Of Energy ◽

Normal Operation ◽

Oak Ridge ◽

Plant Safety ◽

Operation Conditions ◽

Fecral Alloy ◽

Nuclear Power Plant Safety

ABSTRACTThe US Department of Energy (DOE) is partnering with fuel vendors to develop enhanced accident tolerant nuclear fuels for Generation III water cooled reactors. In comparison with the standard current uranium dioxide and zirconium alloy system UO2-Zr), the proposed alternative accident tolerant fuel (ATF) should better tolerate loss of cooling in the core for a considerably longer time while maintaining or improving the fuel performance during normal operation conditions. General Electric, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and their partners have proposed to replace zirconium based alloy cladding in current commercial power reactors with an iron-chromium-aluminum (FeCrAl) alloy cladding such as APMT. The use of FeCrAl alloys will greatly reduce the risk of operating the power reactors to produce electricity.

Download Full-text

Hydrogen Diffusion in FeCrAl Alloys for Light Water Reactors Cladding Applications

Volume 6B: Materials and Fabrication ◽

10.1115/pvp2016-63164 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Raul B. Rebak ◽

Young-Jin Kim

Keyword(s):

Hydrogen Diffusion ◽

Zirconium Alloys ◽

The United States ◽

Department Of Energy ◽

Light Water Reactors ◽

Alumina Layer ◽

Fecral Alloys ◽

Water Reactors ◽

Tritium Permeation ◽

Storage Pools

There is a worldwide effort to develop nuclear fuels that are resistant to accidents such as loss of coolant in the reactor and the storage pools. In the United States, the Department of Energy is teaming with fuel vendors to develop accident tolerant fuels (ATF), which will resist the lack of cooling for longer periods of times than the current zirconium alloy - uranium dioxide system. General Electric (GE) and its partners is proposing to replace zirconium alloys cladding with an Iron-Chromium-Aluminum (FeCrAl) alloy such as APMT, since they are highly resistant to attack by steam up to the melting point of the alloy. FeCrAl alloys do not react with hydrogen to form stable hydrides as zirconium alloys do. Therefore, it is possible that more tritium may be released to the coolant with the use of FeCrAl cladding. This work discusses the formation of an alumina layer on the surface of APMT cladding as an effective barrier for tritium permeation from the fuel to the coolant across the cladding wall.

Download Full-text