Microstructure and mechanical properties of the LWR solidified melt prototype obtained by the out-of-pile experiment

Abstract

Removing the solidified core melt from damaged reactors by drilling or cutting requires knowledge of both mechanical properties and its microstructure. The ingot of the light-water power reactor prototype corium with a different blend composition containing ZrO2, UO2 and Zr was obtained in this work. The microstructure has been studied and the mechanical properties of the light-water power reactor core solidified melt materials have been determined. All samples showed typical brittle fracture behavior.