Materials in Nuclear Reactors

Materials that are consumed - Fuel

Materials that participate in energy transfer or reactions –
Moderator, Coolant, control rod…..
Materials that shield the radiations – Shielding material, steel,
concrete….

Materials that hold the fuel – Fuel cladding

Materials that hold the fuel pins or fuel bundles – Wrapper
PERIODICALLY CHANGED – SHORT LIFE SPAN IN REACTORS

Materials of construction of the reactor – Reactor vessels,

grids, pumps, heat exchangers……..
Materials of construction of the roof slab
Materials of construction of the steam generator components -
PERMANENT STRUCTURES
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 Nuclear Fuel
Important Properties of Fuel Materials:
Thermal Conductivity
Thermal expansion
Melting temperature (solidus temperature)
Compatibility with clad, coolant
Mechanical properties such as hardness, creep etc

 Fissile Nuclides
235U, 239Pu, 233U

Natural U contains 0.7% 235U

 Fertile Nuclides - Can be converted to Fissile Nuclides
238U, 232Th
 Nuclear Fuel
 Chemical Form - Oxide, Carbide, Nitride, Metal or Alloy

 Fuels
Natural UO2 PHWR
Enriched UO2, (U,Pu)O2 BWR
(U.45Pu.55)C, (U.30Pu.70)C FBTR
(U.21Pu.79)O2, (U.28Pu.72)O2 PFBR
U-19Pu-10Zr Future FBRs
Desirable:
 High Fissile atom density
 High Breeding Ratio
Undesirable:
 Anisotropic expansion and dimensional instability
 Low melting point  Low operating temperature
 Fuel Cladding Material
• Cladding is the outer layer of the
fuel rods, standing between the
coolant and the nuclear fuel.
• It is used to provide a
combination of mechanical
properties & corrosion
resistance.
• The purpose of cladding in a
nuclear reactor is two fold:
• Cladding gives the physical
configuration by housing fuel
pellets
• Cladding retains the fission
products and prevents
corrosion of fuel by direct
contact between coolant and
fuel
 Fuel Cladding Material Contd..
• The cladding material should possess the following
properties for its normal operation:
Ductility
Impact strength
Creep Resistance
Ease of fabrication
Resistance to corrosion by coolant
High MP
High thermal conductivity
low absorption cross section for neutrons
Chemically inert
Fuel Cladding Material Contd..

• The following materials are commonly used as the

fuel cladding materials:
Zircaloy
Stainless Steels
Magnesium(Magnox)
Fe-Cr-Al alloys
SiC
Aluminum alloys
 MODERATOR

The energy of the neutron is lowered by predominantly elastic

collisions i.e., the total kinetic energy and momentum of the
system (that of neutron and nucleus) is conserved.

As neutrons are very light compared to most nuclei, most

efficient way of removing kinetic energy is by choosing a
moderating nucleus that has near identical mass

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 MODERATOR
Choice of moderator materials
• Low mass
• High scattering cross section
• Low absorption cross sections

Commonly used moderators are light water, heavy

water and graphite.

Beryllium has been used in some experimental ones

and hydrocarbons have also been suggested.

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 MODERATOR
Moderating efficiency gives the ratio of the macroscopic cross
sections of scattering, Σs, weighted by ξ divided by that of
absorption, Σa:
For a compound moderator, example H2O or D2O: moderating
and absorbing effect of both hydrogen isotope and oxygen
atom is used to calculate ξ.
To bring a neutron from the fission energy of E0 2 MeV to
an E of 1 eV takes an expected n of 16 and 29 collisions for
H2O and D2O, respectively.
Therefore, neutrons are more rapidly moderated by light water,
as H has a far higher Σs. However, it also has a far higher Σa,
so that the moderating efficiency is nearly 80 times higher for
heavy water than for light water.
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 MODERATOR

Graphite moderated reactors

Water moderated reactors
Heavy water reactors – D2O
Light water moderated reactors (LWRs) - H2O

Light element moderated reactors - Li or Be moderated

Molten Salt reactors (MSRs) - Li or Be moderated which are
constituents of the coolant/fuel matrix salts LiF and BeF2.

Liquid metal cooled reactors, with Pb or Bi coolant - BeO as moderator.

Organically moderated reactors (OMR) - biphenyl and terphenyl as
moderator and coolant.
 Neutron reflector
Neutron reflector is any material that reflects neutrons
by elastic scattering.
 To cut down the neutron leakage losses from core
 Desired properties same as moderators

The material may be graphite, Be, steel and also heavy materials
like lead, tungsten carbide, or other materials. A neutron
reflector can make an otherwise sub-critical mass of fissile
material critical.

Water
Heavy Water
Thermal Reflectors
Beryllium
Graphite
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 NEUTRON POISON
A neutron poison is a substance with a large neutron
absorption cross-section in reactors, where
absorbing neutrons is an undesirable effect.

However neutron-absorbing materials, also called

poisons, are intentionally inserted into reactors in
order to lower the high reactivity of initial fresh fuel
load.

Some of these poisons are depleted as they absorb

neutrons during reactor operation, while others
remain relatively constant.
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 CONTROL ROD MATERIALS
Control rods made of a nuclear poison are used to
absorb neutrons, which means that there are fewer
neutrons available to cause fission; so pushing the
control rod deeper into the reactor will reduce its
power output, and extracting the control rod will
increase it.
A control rod is made of chemical elements capable of
absorbing many neutrons without fissioning
themselves. The elements have different capture cross
sections for neutrons of varying energies. The
composition of control rod should be uniquely
designed for each reactor. 13
CONTROL ROD MATERIALS - Selection Criteria

Neutron absorption cross section

Adequate mechanical strength
Corrosion resistance
Chemical and dimensional stability
(under prevailing temperature and irradiation conditions)
Relatively low mass to allow rapid movement
Fabricability
Availability and reasonable cost

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 CONTROL ROD MATERIALS
Boron, Silver, Indium, Cadmium, Hafnium, Dysprosium, Gadolinium,
Samarium, Erbium, Europium or their alloys and compounds: - e.g. high-boron
steel, Ag-In-Cd alloy, boron carbide, zirconium diboride, titanium diboride,
hafnium diboride , gadolinium titanate, and dysprosium titanate.
Element Thermal Neutron
Capture
Cross section
Boron 767 BWR (Clad in 304
B4C
Silver 64 SS)
Indium 194 80% Ag- 5%In+5%Cd PWR (Clad in CW
Cadmium 2450 304 SS, Inconel
B4C
627)
Hafnium 72
Dysprosium 920 B4C LMFBR
Gadolinium 49000
Samarium 5922
Erbium 160
Europium 4600 15
 CONTROL ROD MATERIALS
Boron - Due to different cross sections of 10B and 11B, boron containing
materials enriched in 10B by isotopic separation are frequently used. The
wide absorption spectrum of boron makes it suitable also as a neutron
shield.

Hafnium - has good mechanical strength, can be easily fabricated, and is

resistant to corrosion in hot water. Hf can be alloyed with small amounts of
other elements; e.g. tin and oxygen to increase tensile and creep strength,
iron, chromium and niobium for corrosion resistance, and molybdenum for
wear resistance, hardness, and machine ability - designated as Hafaloy,

Dysprosium titanate is a new material currently undergoing evaluation for

pressurized water control rods. Dysprosium titanate is a promising
replacement for Ag-In-Cd alloys because it has a much higher melting point,
does not tend to react with cladding materials, is easy to produce, does not
produce radioactive waste, does not swell, and does not outgas.

Hafnium diboride is another such new material. It can be used standalone or

prepared in a sintered mixture of hafnium and boron carbide powders.
 SHIELDING MATERIAL
To protect personnel and equipment from the
damaging effects of radiation

Good moderating capability

Reasonable absorption cross section
Cost and space availability
Neutron, ,  and  shielding
Both light and heavy nuclei are preferred

 WATER
 PARAFFIN
 POLYETHYLENE
 Pb, Fe, W
 Boral (B4C in Al matrix)
 Concrete
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 Nuclear Reactor Coolant
A coolant in a nuclear reactor is used to remove heat from
the nuclear reactor core and transfer it to electrical generators
and the environment. Frequently a chain of two coolant loops
is used because the primary coolant loop takes on short-term
radioactivity from the reactor.

Low melting point

High boiling point
Low vapor pressure
Low density
Low neutron absorption cross section
High thermal conductivity
Non toxic
Low pumping power
No induced radioactivity
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 Nuclear Reactor Coolant

Coolant M.pt B.pt

Light water at 155 bar 345 °C

Mercury -38.83 °C 356.73 °C

NaK eutectic -11 °C 785 °C

Sodium 97.72 °C 883 °C

F-Li-Be 459 °C 1430 °C

Lead 327.46 °C 1749 °C

Lead-bismuth eutectic 123.5 °C 1670 °C

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 Major Power Reactors and their Components
Reactor Coolant Fuel Control Rod
Type
Primary Alternates Primary Alternates

BWR H2O UO2a UO2a, (U-Pu)O2a,b B4C, UO2-

Gd2O3
PWR H2O UO2a UO2a (U-Pu)O2a,b Al2O3-B4C UO2-Gd2O3
(U-Th)O2a,b
HWR D2O UO2a (U-Pu)O2a B4C
AGR CO2 UO2a (U-Pu)O2a -
HTGR He UC2c (U-Pu)O2c, (U- B4C Gd2O3-Al2O3,
(ThO2) ThO2)c Eu2O3

(UO2)
GCFR He (U-Pu)O2a (U-Pu)C,a,c (U- B4C Eu2O3
Pu)Na,c
LMFBR Na (U-Pu)O2a (U-Pu)C,a,b (U- B4C Eu2O3
a pellets; b sphere-pac; c coated particles
Pu)Na, (U-Pu)O2b