Elevated temperature tensile tests on DU–10Mo rolled foils

Abstract

Studies were completed to obtain tensile mechanical properties for uranium-10 wt.% molybdenum (U10Mo) foils which were subjected to four different thermomechanical processing conditions. UMo alloy foils are being investigated to support fuel conversion of high power research reactors from their current high enriched fuel form to a low enriched fuel form. Mechanical properties of the fuel foil have an effect on irradiation performance and fuel fabrication and therefore are required to support modeling and qualification of new low-enriched uranium monolithic fuel plate designs. The data contained in this document contributes to fuel qualification by fulfilling the requirement that physical properties related to fuel meat be established. It is expected that depleted uranium-10 wt% Mo (DU–10Mo) mechanical behavior is representative of the low-enriched U10Mo to be used in actual fuel plates; therefore DU–10Mo was studied to simplify material processing, handling, and testing requirements. In this report, the different thermomechanical treatments included variations of wrought hot and cold rolling reduction and post rolling annealing. Each of the four foils was hot rolled. After hot rolling reduction, three of the four foils were further reduced by cold rolling. One of the three was reduced a further 20% by cold rolling, and the remaining two were reduced 50% by cold rolling. Following cold rolling reduction, one of the two foils which had been reduced 50% by cold rolling was annealed at 650 °C. Performing this analysis allows assessment of the impact of foil fabrication history on the resultant tensile properties DU–10Mo fuel foils.Tensile properties of DU–10Mo at room temperature through approximately 400 °C determined from the tests conducted herein suggest the material is stronger and has lower ductility than what has been reported previously in the literature. The explanation for these differences has yet to be determined, but is likely related to differences in grain size and/or impurity content, and variation in fabrication history. At the highest temperatures tested (550 °C) better agreement between the values reported here and available literature was found. As expected, yield and ultimate tensile strength decreased with increasing test temperature. Generally, the yield stress for all foil processing conditions was found to be in the range of 1100 MPa for room temperature tests, and in the range of 200 MPa for tests conducted at 550 °C. Ultimate tensile stress was in the range of 1175 MPa at room temperature, decreasing to approximately 225 MPa at 550 °C. Elongation increased significantly, from 0 to 2% at room temperature to 50% or more for the tests at 550 °C.