Design of a Single Variable Helium Effects Experiment for Irradiation in FFTF (Fast Flux Test Facility) Using Alloys Enriched in Nickel 59

摘要

Nickel enriched in nickel 59 was extracted from the fragments of a fracture toughness specimen of Inconel 600 irradiated in the Engineering Test Reactor (ETR). The nickel contained 2.0% nickel 59. Three heats of austenitic steel doped with nickel-59 were prepared and inserted in the Materials Open Test Assembly (MOTA) of the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF). The experiment was single variable in helium effects because chemically identical alloys without nickel-59 were being irradiated side by side with the doped material. The alloys doped with nickel 59 produced 10 to 100 times more helium than the control alloys. The materials included ternary and quaternary alloys in the form of transmission electron microscope (TEM) discs and miniature tensile specimens. The helium to dpa ratio was in the range 5 to 35 and was nearly constant throughout the irradiation. The exposures ranged from 0.25 to 50 displacements per atom (dpa) over the duration of the experiment. The irradiation temperatures covered the range of 360 to 600 deg C. (ERA citation 12:037220)