Applicability of Swaging as an Alternative for the Fabrication of Accident-Tolerant Fuel Cladding

Abstract

We suggest an alternative to conventional coating methods for accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) cladding. A Zircaloy-4 tube was inserted into metal tubes of different materials and the inserted tubes were subjected to physical force at room temperature. The manufactured tube exhibited a pseudo-single tube (PST) structure and had higher thermal stability than a Zircaloy-4 tube. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy images showed that the PST had a uniform and well-bonded interface structure, i.e., no gaps or voids were found at the interface between the inner and outer tubes. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis confirmed that the metal components did not interdiffuse at the interface of the PST, even after being kept at 600 and 900 degrees C for 1 h and rapidly cooled to room temperature. Unlike pure Zircaloy-4 tubes, Zircaloy-4/stainless use steel (SUS) 316 PST did not show significant structural collapse, even after being stored at 1200 degrees C for 1 h. Based on these results, if a PST was fabricated using a Zircaloy-4 tube thinner than the Zircaloy-4 tube used in this study and an outer tube of micron-scale thickness, swaging may be a feasible alternative to Zircaloy-4-based ATF cladding.