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Bond Characterization of Plasma Sprayed Zirconium on Uranium Alloy by Microcantilever Testing

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Abstract

The future production of low enriched uranium nuclear fuel for test reactors requires a well-adhered diffusion barrier coating of zirconium (Zr) on the uranium/molybdenum (U-Mo) alloy fuel. In this study, the interfacial bond between plasma sprayed Zr coatings and U-Mo fuel was characterized by microcantilever beam testing. Test results revealed the effect of specific flaws such as cracks and pores on the bonding of interfaces with a sampling area of approximately 20 μm2. TEM examination showed the Zr/U-Mo interface to contain rows of very fine grains (5-30 nm) with the Zr in contact with UO2. Bond characteristics of plasma sprayed samples were measured that are similar to those of roll bonded samples showing the potential for plasma sprayed Zr coatings to have high bond strength.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge Ann Kelly for her help with metallographic preparation of samples and David Dombrowski for his review of the manuscript. This work was funded by the DOE NNSA Global Threat Reduction Initiative’s Reactor Conversion Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials Science and Technology Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA

    K. J. Hollis, N. A. Mara, R. D. Field, T. A. Wynn, J. M. Crapps & P. O. Dickerson

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  1. K. J. Hollis
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  2. N. A. Mara
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  3. R. D. Field
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  4. T. A. Wynn
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  5. J. M. Crapps
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  6. P. O. Dickerson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to K. J. Hollis.

Additional information

This article is an invited paper selected from presentations at the 2012 International Thermal Spray Conference and has been expanded from the original presentation. It is simultaneously published in Thermal Spray 2012: Proceedings of the International Thermal Spray Conference, Air, Land, Water, and the Human Body: Thermal Spray Science and Applications, Houston, Texas, USA, May 21-24, 2012, Basil R. Marple, Arvind Agarwal, Laura Filofteia-Toma, Margaret M. Hyland, Yuk-Chiu Lau, Chang-Jiu Li, Rogerio S. Lima, and André McDonald, Ed., ASM International, Materials Park, OH, 2012.

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Hollis, K.J., Mara, N.A., Field, R.D. et al. Bond Characterization of Plasma Sprayed Zirconium on Uranium Alloy by Microcantilever Testing. J Therm Spray Tech 22, 233–241 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-012-9858-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-012-9858-7

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