Grant: Strategic Projects - Group

Nuclear energy is increasingly being perceived as a sustainable, clean energy source. New generation of Candu reactors will offer higher fuel burn-up, higher efficiency and excellent safety of operation. Canada is also engaged in design of the Generation IV reactors that are also considered for providing the heat for production of clean hydrogen fuel via thermolysis of water in the future. The performance and high efficiency of these advanced reactors demand more severe service environments. Construction materials with improved resistance to high temperature, high pressure, high corrosion and high radiation field are necessary. Supercritical water (SCW) reactor is of primarily interest for Canadian program. However, it is not known if Zircaloy-4 used in the present Candu reactors for fuel cladding can be used in the SCW reactors and also if the alloy E110 (Zr-0.01Nb), that is new in Canada, can be used. The work proposed will help to answer these questions. Since both alloys are also considered for fuel cladding in Advanced Candu Reactors, the proposed research will allow comparing and evaluating their properties under different temperature and corrosion environment. Novel methods of synchrotron radiation based structural imaging will be developed for the realization of this program, which will allow three-dimensional imaging of structure. The combination of synchrotron and Orientation Imaging Microscopy (OIM) techniques will offer novel description of processes that contribute to failure of Zr alloys in the steam and the supercritical water environment. Microstructural and thermodynamic models of hydride transformation leading to alloy failure will be developed. This will allow us to make recommendations on possible application of these alloys in the future SCW reactors.