HYDRIDES IN IRRADIATED LINER CLADDING – LOCAL AND IN-DEPTH CONCENTRATION DETERMINATION BY NEUTRON RADIOGRAPHY

摘要

The characterization of hydride in fuel claddingtubes after being in service is crucial to assess theirreliability, in particular for dry-storage conditions.Hydrogen quantification with high spatial resolution isgenerally difficult by common methods. Therefore highresolutionneutron imaging is becoming an important toolfor the hydrides evaluation and comparison tomicrostructure characterization techniques. A prototypedesigned as ‘Active Box’ was developed and successfullyused for transportation, handling and measuring activesamples at the Neutron Microscope. Irradiated Zry-4 andDX-D4 cladding sections inside the ‘Active Box’ weremeasured and long circumferential hydrides were visible.DX-D4 showed at the liner interface notable hydridesprecipitation when compared to Zry-4 irradiatedmaterial.