IN-PILE PERFORMANCE OF HANA CLADDING TESTED IN HALDEN REACTOR

Abstract

An in-pile performance test of HANA claddings was conducted at up to 67 GWD/MTU in the Halden research reactor in Norway over a 6.5 year period. Four types of HANA claddings (HANA-3, HANA-4, HANA-5, and HANA-6) and a reference Zircaloy-4 cladding were used for the in-pile test. The evaluation parameters of the HANA claddings were the corrosion behavior, dimensional changes, hydrogen uptake, and tensile strength after the claddings were tested under the simulated operation conditions of a Korean commercial reactor. The oxide thickness ranged from 15 to 37 mm at a high flux region in the test rods, and all HANA claddings showed corrosion resistance superior to the Zircaloy-4 cladding. The creep-down rate of all HANA claddings was lower than that of the Zircaloy-4 cladding. In addition, the hydrogen content of the HANA claddings ranged from 54 to 96 wppm at the high heat flux region of the test rods, whereas the hydrogen content of the Zircaloy-4 cladding was 119 wppm. The tensile strength of the HANA and Zircaloy-4 claddings was similarly increased when compared to the un-irradiated claddings owing to the radiation-induced hardening.