SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 01 January 2000
STP14295S

Irradiation-Enhanced Deformation of Zr-2.5Nb Tubes at High Neutron Fluences

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The effects of neutron flux and temperature on irradiation creep of 10-mm- diameter Zr-2.5Nb tubes are being assessed in end-of-life experiments in the Osiris reactor in France. The tubes have crystallographic texture, grain shape, and dislocation densities that are similar to those of full-size CANDU reactor pressure tubes. The experiments are performed at nominal operating temperatures of 553 and 583 K in fast neutron fluxes up to 2.0 × 1018 n · m-2 · s-1 (E > 1 MeV). Transverse and axial strains are reported as functions of fluence for specimens internally pressurized to hoop stresses from 0 to 160 MPa and irradiated to fluences up to 1.5 × 1026 and 1.3 × 1026 n · m-2 at 553 and 583 K, respectively. The measured transverse and axial strain rates in these high-fluence experiments are shown to be in good agreement with a creep model relating crystallographic texture to the in-reactor deformation of CANDU pressure tubes. The anisotropy of irradiation creep does not change with fluence, but the temperature dependencies of creep and growth are changing; the activation temperature for creep is increasing, while the magnitude of the activation temperature for irradiation growth (a negative value) is becoming less negative with fluence.

Author Information

Causey, AR
AECL, Chalk River Laboratories, Chalk River, Ontario, Canada
Holt, RA
AECL, Chalk River Laboratories, Chalk River, Ontario, Canada
Christodoulou, N
AECL, Chalk River Laboratories, Chalk River, Ontario, Canada
Ho, ETC
Ontario Hydro, Kipling Laboratories, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Developed by Committee: B10
Pages: 74–85
DOI: 10.1520/STP14295S
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-5416-2
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-2499-8