Characterization of molten 2LiF–BeF_2 salt impregnated into graphite matrix of fuel elements for thorium molten salt reactor

The impregnation behavior of molten 2LiF–BeF_2(FLiBe) salt into a graphite matrix of fuel elements for a solid fuel thorium molten salt reactor(TMSR-SF) at pressures varying from 0.4 to 1.0 MPa was studied by mercury intrusion, molten salt impregnation, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy techniques.It was found that the entrance pore diameter of the graphite matrix is less than 1.0 μm and the contact angle is about 135°. The threshold impregnation pressure was found to be around 0.6 MPa experimentally, consistent with the predicted value of 0.57 MPa by the Washburn equation. With the increase of pressure from 0.6 to 1.0 MPa, the average weight gain of the matrix increased from 3.05 to 10.48%,corresponding to an impregnation volume increase from 2.74 to 9.40%. The diffraction patterns of FLiBe are found in matrices with high impregnation pressures(0.8 MPa and1.0 MPa). The FLiBe with sizes varying from tens of nanometers to a micrometer mainly occupies the open pores in the graphite matrix. The graphite matrix could inhibit the impregnation of the molten salt in the TMSR-SF with a maximum operation pressure of less than 0.5 MPa.

Development of a three dimension multi-physics code for molten salt fast reactor

Molten Salt Reactor(MSR) was selected as one of the six innovative nuclear reactors by the Generation IV International Forum(GIF).The circulating-fuel in the can-type molten salt fast reactor makes the neutronics and thermo-hydraulics of the reactor strongly coupled and different from that of traditional solid-fuel reactors.In the present paper,a new coupling model is presented that physically describes the inherent relations between the neutron flux,the delayed neutron precursor,the heat transfer and the turbulent flow.Based on the model,integrating nuclear data processing,CAD modeling,structured and unstructured mesh technology,data analysis and visualization application,a three dimension steady state simulation code system(MSR3DS) for the can-type molten salt fast reactor is developed and validated.In order to demonstrate the ability of the code,the three dimension distributions of the velocity,the neutron flux,the delayed neutron precursor and the temperature were obtained for the simplified MOlten Salt Advanced Reactor Transmuter(MOSART) using this code.The results indicate that the MSR3DS code can provide a feasible description of multi-physical coupling phenomena in can-type molten salt fast reactor.Furthermore,the code can well predict the flow effect of fuel salt and the transport effect of the turbulent diffusion.

An Amidoximated-UHMEPE Fiber for Selective and High Efficient Removal of Uranyl and Thorium from Acid Aqueous Solution

High efficient removal and recovery of uranium and thorium from nuclear waste solution are essential for environmental preservation and fuel recycle. A new polymer fiber adsorbent (UHMEPE-g-PAO fiber), prepared by amidoximation of grafted polyacrylonitrile onto Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber, was used to remove the uranyl and thorium ions from acid aqueous solutions and its performance was carefully investigated. It was found that uranyl ion can penetrate the fiber through the connected pore structures, forming (UO2) (R-C(NH2)-NO)2 chelates with the amidoxime groups within the fiber. Two amidoxime groups (U-N and U-Oeq) and two water molecules (U-Oeq2) are bound to uranyl ion in the fiber. On the contrary, thorium ions are adsorbed mainly on the fiber surface in the form of Th(OH)4 precipitate that blocks the entrance of Th4+ ion into fiber pores. The maximum included other two capacities of uranyl and thorium ions were estimated to be 262.01 mg/g and 160 mg/g at room temperature with pH 3.0, respectively. The results also indicate that the UHMWPE-g-PAO fiber has higher adsorption selectivity for uranyl ion than thorium ion. Uranium and thorium oxide particles were obtained as the ultimate product after sintering of the fiber adsorbent. This novel and environmentally friendly adsorption process is feasible to extract uranium or thorium from acidic aqueous solution.

Supercritical water oxidation of spent extraction solvent simulants

The rapid development of nuclear technology has led to more liquid organic radioactive wastes. Different from the regular aqueous radioactive wastes, these liquids possess a higher hazard potential and cannot be disposed through the conventional methods due to their radioactivity and chemical nature. Spent extraction solvent is a kind of common liquid organic radioactive wastes. In this work, tri-butyl phosphate(TBP), which is more difficult to degrade in the spent extraction solvent, was used as the model compound. Influences of reaction conditions on total organic carbon(TOC) removal and the volume percentage of each gas component under supercritical water oxidation(SCWO) were studied. The SCWO behaviors of spent extraction solvent simulants were studied under the optimal conditions derived from the TBP experiment. The SCWO experiments were studied at 400–550℃, oxidant stoichiometric ratio of 0–200%, feed concentration of 1.5%–4% and pressure of25 MPa for 15–75 s. The results show that the TOC removal of the simulants was greater than 99.7% and CH4,H2 and CO were not detected at 550℃, 25 MPa, oxidant stoichiometric ratio of 150%, feed concentration of3%, and residence time of 30 s.

XAFS and SRGI-XRD studies of the local structure of tellurium corrosion of Ni–18%Cr alloy

The speciation and atomic structures of corrosion products in Ni-based alloys could provide basic information for understanding the Te corrosion mechanism.In this paper,two-dimensional synchrotron-radiation-induced grazing incidence X-ray diffraction was used to characterize the corrosion products of a Ni–18%Cr binary alloy at temperatures from 600 to 1000℃.The results showed that a film of CrTe is preferentially formed when Te reacts with the Ni-based alloy at low temperatures(below 900℃),while CrTe and Ni3Te2 are formed at 900℃.Moreover,at a temperature of 1000℃,a solid solution is formed without any changes in the Ni–Cr substrate lattice parameters.Furthermore,X-ray absorption fine structure and wavelet transform analyses were used to investigate the atomic local structure of Te.The investigation indicated that Te atoms diffuse into the Ni–Cr substrate to form a substitutional Ni–Cr–Te solid solution at 1000℃.Notably,based on a discussion of the thermodynamics of the chemical reaction process,CrTe is considered to be the most stable and prevalent corrosion product due to its comparatively lower Gibbs free energy of formation.These results demonstrate that the Ni–18%Cr alloy is capable of resisting the diffusion of Te atoms.

Effect of Surface Decarburization on Corrosion Behavior of GH3535 Alloy in Molten Fluoride Salts

Corrosion test of a Ni–16Mo–7Cr alloy with a decarburized layer was conducted in FLiNaK salt at 700 °C. A detailed microstructure study was performed to investigate the corrosion behavior and mechanisms. The results show that the Ferich layers were formed on the corroded alloys with and without decarburization. The surface decarburization had little influence on the corrosion resistance of the alloy, whereas it caused more M_2C carbide formation beneath the corrosion layer. That is attributed to the higher concentration of C gradient near the alloy surface, which was resulted from the increase in C content liberated from graphite crucible wall during the corrosion process.

Development of micro-Laue technique at Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility for materials sciences

Synchrotron radiation-based micro-Laue technique has showcased great application potentials in materials science study for its unprecedented crystal orientation and lattice strain/stress resolution.Here we report the updated progress in the development of the micro-Laue technique on the X-ray test beamline at Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility.So far,40μm(h)×50μm(v)X-ray beam spot is routinely obtained,with the convergent angle of 0.2 mrad(h)×0.12 mrad(v).Area scans are conducted on a GH3535 Nibased superalloy base metal and weld joint with the same chemical composition.By analyzing the tremendous amount of Laue diffraction patterns using in-house developed software packages,the crystal orientation,elastic strain,and defect distributions are mapped and investigated.Such a successful proof-of-principle study offers first-hand experience on the further optimization of the design and construction of the scanning micro-Laue facility on the superbend beamline with improved spatial resolution and multiple functions for simultaneous chemical fluorescence mapping and in-situ microstructural evolution studies.The micro-Laue diffraction beamline at Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility will provide a versatile and powerful tool for the orientation and strain/stress mapping combined with phase identification with micron-sized spatial resolution.

Welding solidification cracking susceptibility and behavior of a Ni-28W-6Cr alloy

Welding solidification cracking of alloys is associated with the range of solidification temperature that can be greatly affected by the amount of refractory metals and other additives. In this work, solidification cracking of Ni-28W-6Cr alloy with high W content was studied by gas tungsten arc welding, showing that the welding current, alloying elements and precipitates all affect the cracking susceptibility. The lengths of cracks increase linearly with the welding current in the range from 150 to 250 A. The relatively high cracking susceptibility is mainly attributed to the high content of Si, which tends to segregate with other elements including W, Cr, Mn as films or components with low melting point in the last solidification stage and weaken the binding force of grain boundaries. Moreover, the existence of precipitated continuous eutectic M_6C carbides in the grain boundaries also acts as nucleation sites of crack initiation, and the cracks often propagate along solidification grain boundary.

Microstructure and Its Influence on the Mechanical Properties of Ni–28W–6Cr-Based Alloy-Welded Joints by GTAW

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Ni-28W-6Cr alloy-welded joints produced by gas tungsten arc welding were investigated in this work.Results showed that original fine-grain base metal near fusion line totally transformed into coarse heat affected zone after welding.Carbides with different shapes were found in the weld metal and base metal,which all were determined as M6C carbides.In comparison with carbides in base metal,M6C carbides in weld metal are rich in Si and Cr but deficient in W.Moreover,M6C carbides are extremely scarce and hard to be detected in weld metal.Mechanical tests show that the hardness value of weld metal is only about 60%of base metal;the yield strength and tensile strength of welded joint are much lower than those of base metal due to the absence of carbides in weld metal.