TY - JOUR
T1 - Influence of technetium on the microstructure of a stainless steel-zirconium alloy
AU - Keiser, D. D.
AU - Abraham, D. P.
AU - Richardson, J. W.
N1 - Funding Information:
The support of the US Department of Energy, Reactor Systems, Development and Technology, under contract W-31-109-Eng-38 is recognized. This work has benefited from the use of the Intense Pulsed Neutron Source at Argonne National Laboratory. This facility is funded by the US Department of Energy, BES-Materials Science, under Contract No. W-31-109-ENG-38. We acknowledge the assistance of Steven Frank, Stephen Johnson, Dan Cummings and Tom O'Holleran, and thank Sean McDeavitt for helpful discussions.
PY - 2000/2
Y1 - 2000/2
N2 - Stainless steel-zirconium alloys are being developed for the disposal of metallic waste generated during the electrometallurgical treatment of spent Experimental Breeder Reactor (EBR-II) fuel. The metallic waste contains the fission product technetium, which must be incorporated into a stable waste form matrix to prevent its release into the environment. The baseline waste form for metallic waste from EBR-II fuels is a stainless steel-15 wt% zirconium (SS-15Zr) alloy. The microstructure of SS-15Zr alloys containing 2 wt% technetium was characterized using a combination of microscopy, spectroscopy, diffraction, and chemical analysis techniques. Peaks corresponding to the iron solid solutions ferrite and austenite, ZrFe2-type Laves polytypes C36 and C15, and an Fe23Zr6-type intermetallic were identified in diffraction patterns of the alloy. Discrete technetium-rich phases were not observed either in diffraction patterns or in the microstructure; the element partitioned into various phases of the SS-15Zr alloy. Technetium favors ferrite and austenite over the Zr-based intermetallics. The lattice parameters of the Zr-based intermetallics are smaller than those in an alloy without technetium, which appears to substitute at the zirconium sites of the intermetallic lattice.
AB - Stainless steel-zirconium alloys are being developed for the disposal of metallic waste generated during the electrometallurgical treatment of spent Experimental Breeder Reactor (EBR-II) fuel. The metallic waste contains the fission product technetium, which must be incorporated into a stable waste form matrix to prevent its release into the environment. The baseline waste form for metallic waste from EBR-II fuels is a stainless steel-15 wt% zirconium (SS-15Zr) alloy. The microstructure of SS-15Zr alloys containing 2 wt% technetium was characterized using a combination of microscopy, spectroscopy, diffraction, and chemical analysis techniques. Peaks corresponding to the iron solid solutions ferrite and austenite, ZrFe2-type Laves polytypes C36 and C15, and an Fe23Zr6-type intermetallic were identified in diffraction patterns of the alloy. Discrete technetium-rich phases were not observed either in diffraction patterns or in the microstructure; the element partitioned into various phases of the SS-15Zr alloy. Technetium favors ferrite and austenite over the Zr-based intermetallics. The lattice parameters of the Zr-based intermetallics are smaller than those in an alloy without technetium, which appears to substitute at the zirconium sites of the intermetallic lattice.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/0034135349
U2 - 10.1016/S0022-3115(99)00158-0
DO - 10.1016/S0022-3115(99)00158-0
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0034135349
SN - 0022-3115
VL - 277
SP - 333
EP - 338
JO - Journal of Nuclear Materials
JF - Journal of Nuclear Materials
IS - 2-3
ER -