Metallurgy Division - Quarterly Prog Rpt [Apr 30, 1952] [Declassified]

127 Pages·1952·12.232 MB·English

UNCLASSIFIED
. .
Contract No. W-7405-eng-26
METALLURGY DIVISION
QUARTERLY PROGRESS REPORT
for Period Ending April 30, 1952
J. H. Frye, Jr., Director
EDITED BY
/9,f d
W. H. Bridges Photostat Price $
61-30
Microfilm Price $
Available from the
Office of Technical Services
DATE ISSUED
Department of Commerce
Washington 25, D. C.
-. :I
iL-
OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY
operated by
CAPYIDE AND CARBON CliEMICALS COMPANY
A Division of Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation
-.. Post Office Box P
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
.-
' - I LEGAL NOTICE
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i
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DISCLAIMER

Portions of this document may be illegible in
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Reports previously issued i n this series are as follows:
ORNL-28 Period Ending March 1, 1948
OWL-69 Period Ending May 31, 1948
-
ORNL 4 07 Period Ending July 31, 1949
ORNL - 5 11 Period Ending October 31, 1949
OWL-583 Period Ending January 31, 1950
OWL-7 54 Period Ending April 30, 1950
ORNL - 8 2 7 Period Ending July 31, 1950
OWL - 9 10 Period Ending October 31, 1950
ORNL-987 Period Ending January 31, 1951
ORNL- 1033 Period Ending April 30, 1951
ORNL-1108 Period Ending July 31, 1951
ORNL - 11 6 1 Period Ending October 31, 1951
OWL - 12 6 7 Period Ending January 31, 1952
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a
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
1
SUMMARY
4
THORIUM RESEARCH
4
Alloy Development
10
Mechanical Properties of Thorium and Thorium Alloys
15
Fabrication of Thorium
15
Recrystallization of Thorium
18
Radiation Damage of Thorium
20
PREFERRED ORIENTATION OF URANIUM
. Me c h an i c T T es t i n< 37
m - Fabrication 41
42
Brazing
We 1d i n g 44
CERAMICS LABORATORY 55
Organi zati on 55
Re se arch Program 55
55
Design and Building of Equipment
55
Hafnia Research
55
Ceramic Coatings
56
Radiation Damage Studies
56
Lithium-Glass Diffusion Barrier
56
Repo r t s
56
Se rv i ce Work
58
HOMOGENEOUS REACTOR PROGRAM
58
Corrosion
58
Welding of Stainless Steel
58
Nondestructive Testing
.
. i’ i
PAGE
58
Radiation Damage Studies
HRE Control Plates 58
61
Titanium Welding
62
Properties of Titanium and Zirconium
X- RAY LABORATORY 64
Crystal Structure of NiOOH 64
I .~. Crystal Structure of NaNiOz 67
METALLOGRAPHIC LABORATORY 68
.- Metallographic Examination of Thorium and Thorium Alloys 70
EXPERIMENTAL PLATE- CLADDING PROGRAM 83
Cladding of Uranium with Zirconium 83
Cladding of Thorium with Zirconium 96
Edge Closure by Welding 108
Cladding of Thorium with Aluminum 111
Ceramics Protective Coatings 114
Experimental Welding of Uranium, Thorium, and Zirconium 115
FUEL AND CONTROL ELEMENT FABRICATION 118
MTR Fuel and Control Rod Elements 118
Experimental CP-5 Fuel Units 119
LITR Fuel Units 121
Bulk Shielding Facility Fuel and Control Elements 121
Fuel IJnits for Chemical Processing 121
Service Work 121
P
METALLURGY DIVISION QUARTERLY PROGRESS REPORT
SUMMARY
R e s u l t s of t h e thorium a l l o y Some preliminary, qualitative data
development work indicate that carbon have been obtained on possible changes
i s a p o t e n t h a r d e n i n g a d d i t i o n . i n dimensions and hardness of thorium
Additions o f 0.2% carbon produce a s a r e s u l t o f r a d i a t i o n damage.
threefold increases in strength without The examin a t i on o f alph a- extruded
severe loss of ductility. Beryllium uranium rods by the spherical x-ray-
and oxygen have only minor e f f e c t s diffraction technique has been com-
when added t o thorium in amounts in pleted. The textures are summarized
the range found in normal Ames material. and correlated with the fabricating
Chromium additions t o thorium produce conditions of recrystallization. It
substantial increases in strength and appe a rs t h a t the re c r yst a11 i zat ion
hardness and o f f e r some promise of texture developed i n extruded uranium
improving corrosion resistance. rod i s dependent upon t h e mode of
induction of the recrystallization.
Marked differences i n mechanical
p r o p e r t i e s have been observed i n The Division has contributed con-
i n thorium extruded a t two different sultation and service assistance t o
r a t e s of speed. Material extruded the Homogeneous Reactor Project on
a t a low rate (1 ft/min) has-strengtki corrosion problems, welding specifi-
about double that of material extruded c a t i o n s , and f a b r i c a t i o n o f HRE
a t a f a s t r a t e (600 ft/min). Rod safety plates. The cooperative work
extruded a t the slow r a t e shows ia with the Y-12 Nondestructive Test
major 11111 texture with a minor [I101 Group and t h e ORNL S o l i d S t a t e
texture. A single ill41 texture i,s D i v i s i o n on homogeneous r e a c t o r
observed i n material extruded a t the problems, continues. Progress has
fast rate. been made i n the i n i t i a l stages of
investigations of titanium and zirconium
The effect of elevated-temperature fabrication for application to homo-
heat treatment on the impact strength _g- e-n. e~ ous reactors. &.. -
o f thorium a t room temperature has .-
The tests conducted on these
been determined. A sharp transition
brazing a1l .oys include flow-
i n impact s t r e n g t h has been noted . . I
a b i l i t y , corrosion, and phys-ical
between anneals a t temperatures from
properties. It ,was found that the
800 t o 1100°C and those a t 1200 t o
60% Pd-40% N i a l l o y #as the b e s t
1600°C; the material treated a t 1200°C
brazing material t o use i n contact
and above showed very much lower
with fluoride niixt.ures. Additional
impact strength.
experiments have been conducted on
Isothermal recrystallization curves cone-arc welding techniques t,o obtain
have been determined f o r 80% cold- an understanding of the variables of
worked iodide and Ames thorium. It this process. Some work has been com-
appears that the start of recrystal- Pleted on Practical applicaLion of the
lization occurs at about 5 2 0 0 ~fo r cone-arc welding technique t o a c t u a l
the thorium and at about 5 1 0 0 ~ fabrication of the tube-to-header
joints in heat exchangers.
for the iodide thorium.
%
; .*~ 1
METALLURGY DIVISION QUARTERLY PROGRESS REPORT
An a d d i t i o n a l method f o r t h e r a t i o n , j a c k e t design, method o f
production of solid fuel elements has evacuation and sealing, rolling temper-
been studied t h a t involves loose- ature, and amount o f reduction re-
powder sintering of uranium-bearing quired have been studied.
mixture to a solid backing plate. The
-
following variables have been investi-z Uranium can be bonded me tal lurgi
gated: sintering temperature, sin- cally to zirconium by hot rolling a t
- tering t i m e , fuel component particle 1175°F with a reduction of 10 t o 1.
size, cold working and resintering, Shear strengths as high a s 60,000 psi
surface preparation, and sin.t.e. ring have been measured. Cla, samples have
under load. successfully withstood bombardment in
_F the Y-12 calutron under a heat load
o f 1 kw/in.2 for a 24-hr test period.
The crystal structure of NiOOH has
i- been worked out by x-ray diffraction Also, quenching directly from 720°C
methods. The unit cellisrhombohedral, i n t o room temperature water ( b e t a
a = 7.17 1 and a = 22.84 degrees, and heat treatment) has failed to destroy
is believed to contain three formula the bond.
weights. Work has s t a r t e d on t h e
-
determination of the crystal structure Because of i t s high chemical
of NaNi02. activity and melting point, thorium
is somewhat more d i f f i c u l t t o clad
The apparatus for two simplified w i t h zirconium than uranium. Un-
I methods of studying dynamic corrosion fortunately, the formation of a low-
have been developed. This equipment melting-point phase i n t h e zirconium-
was used successfully i n preliminary iron diagram l i m i t s therolling temper-
tests- for studying the metal-hydroxide ature to 1650°F or lower. A technique
mass tr ans fer phenomenon. of hot rolling at1500°F, followed by
an 180O"Fheattreatmentafter stripping
e main e f f o r t o f the Ceramic the steel can, has resulted i n good
oratory during the past quarter bonding. Thus far, a low-carbon grade
has been the design and installation of titanium-deoxidized s t e e l h a s
of equipment. A research program was proved to be the best canning material
l a i d out and work commenced on the- found to protect these active m e t a l s
ceramic coating, ha fnia , and radiation during hot working.
damage phases. An investigation of a
Although a simple, c y l i n d r i c a l
lithium-glass diffusion barrier was
started. type of b i l l e t design was used w i t h
considerable success for the i n i t i a l
? - For the determination o f ferro- phase of t h i s investigation, a new
magnetic areas i n non f err omagn e t ic nonframing type. of jacket design has
alloys, the magnetic-etch method has been adopted for large-scale production
of double-clad plate. Such a design
been used. Colloidal iron i s coated
on the specimen and a magnetic field obviates the d i f f i c u l t problem of
is used t o a t t r a c t the iron t o the maintaining perfect alignment during
f e rr oma gne ti c a r e a s . M i c ro s c o pi c r o l l i n g o f e x t r a long p l a t e s and
examination then reveals the affect- r e s u l t s i n a more uniformly c l a d
ed areas. p l a t e . One d i s a d v a n t a g e i s t h e
exposure of the core material along
the ends and lateral edges.
R e l i a b l e techniques have b e e n !
developed for cladding pure uranium
w i t h zirconium by r o l l i n g . The Experimental welding work is i n
FOR PERIOD ENDING APRIL 30, 1952
g. Preliminary r e s u l t s are being taken to step-up production
indicate that the method is definitely commensurate with the expected increase
feasible. Zirconium f i l l e r rod has in demand.
been used successfully i n the welding
of thorium c o r e p l a t e s ; a 3 w t %
Developmental work was i n i t i a t e d
nickel alloy is used with the uranium
on the fabrication of a modified MTR
core plates.
fuel u n i t for the CP-5 r e a c t o r a t
-
Argonne National Laboratory. Three
Developmental work on the problem
dummy aluminum assemblies were made
of cladding of thorium with aluminum
'
to determine optimum j i g dimensions
for production of U233 by irradiation
and develop a brazing cycle that w i l l
continues. Test samples, prepared
by the direct method, have been rolled yield brazed assemblies w e l l within
a t 400, 500, and 6OOOC and evaluated. the CP-5 specified tolerances. In-
Alclad p l a t e s r o l l e d a t 4OOOC are spection results were encouraging. A l l
- __ probably s u i t able for service i n the units, with the possible exception
M a t e r i a l s T e s t i n g R e a c t o r . Un- of the first, m e t specifications. NO
fortunately, the metallurgical bond trouble i s anticipated in fabricating
o b t a i n e d w i l l n o t w i t h s t a n d t h e the remaining 16 a c t i v e assemblies
aluminum-silicon brazing treatment, that were ordered.
so t h i s method cannot be used for
plate assembly. In connection with the proposed
power level increase of the LITR from
approximately 1 t o 1.5 megawatts,
The possibility of using special
two replacement and five additional
ceramic coatings t o protect highly
enriched-fuel assemblies were fabri-
active metals like zirconium, thorium,
cated.
and uranium during hot-working oper-
ations is being investigated.
Five fuel units containing a sub-
Sixty-six enriched fuel units and normal amount of UZ3' were prepared
eight cadmium shim-safety rods were for the Bulk Shielding Facility. The
u n i t s were needed t o complete a
fabricated for the Materials Testing
Reactor and shipped t o ARCO. A l l matched set of cold elements for
shipments arrived safely. No trouble making gamma-ray spectra measurements.
was experienced in loading the initial
set of 23 fuel and 4 control elements,
into the reactor for the start-up. Four of the 20 normal-uranium fuel
a'ssemblies were completed for American
Cyanamid a t ARCO for use i n conducting
The remainder of the third and a l l
-
the initial dissolving and separation
of the fourth p i l e loading a r e i n I
runs a t the chemical processing plant.
various stages of completion. Measures
I
FOR PERIOD ENDING APRIL 30, 1952
THORIUM RESEARCH
E. J. Boyle
ALLOY DEVELOPMENT Effect of Quenching Temperature on
the Hardness of the Thorium-Carbon
J. A. Milko
Alloys. Hardness values are presented
i n Table 1 f o r nine thorium-carbon
The alloy development progr,am was
alloys quenched from the indicated
i n i t i a t e d primarily t o advance the
temperatures. From this table it may
general metallurgical knowledge of
, be observed readily that an increase
thorium and several of its alloys.(')
in the carbon content in thorium-carbon
The objective of the program is the
alloys r e s u l t s i n a marked increase
development of alloys of thorium that
i n the hardness of the alloy. This
have high strength and satisfactory
trend is apparent in the as-arc-cast
corrosion resistance. Another a i m
condition, as w e l l as i n the quenched
is the determination of solubility of
state.
certain elements in pure thorium and
t h e i r e f f e c t s on mechanical and
An examination o f t h e d a t a i n
physical properties. It is f e l t that
T a b l e 1 shows t h a t t h e h a r d n e s s
t h e r e s u l t s of t h i s s t u d y w i l l be
changed d e f i n i t e l y f o r t h e 0.07,
useful, since the information gained
0.09, 0. 11, 0.20, and 0.26% carbon
w i l l f i l l many gaps i n the existing
alloys below the quenching temperature
knowledge.
of 1400°C. These changes are sug-
gestive of a solid-solution type of
A part of the program has been the
hardening by these amounts of carbon
i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f t h e e f f e c t s o f
in thorium, i n the temperature range
elements such as carbon, oxygen, and
of 1400 t o 16OO0C. Below 14OO0C, the
beryllium on the properties of pure
h ardness decreases progressively,
thorium so that the effects could be
which i s somewhat i n d i c a t i v e o f
evaluated satisfactorily when present
decreasing s o l u b i l i t y of carbon i n
i n combination in commercial thorium.
the thorium with 'decreasing tempera-
The effect o f chromium was also ture. These observations w i l l be
investigated because of its promise
verified by x-ray-diffraction studies
as an alloying addition t o improve
of these alloys.
the corrosion resistance and strength
properties of thorium. The results
For the al-loys containing carbon in
of the partly completed investigation
the range of 0.5 t o 2.5%, no definite
are presented i n the following t e x t
trend of the relationship of carbon
under appropriate headings.
content t o quenching temperature can
be observed. There appears t o be a
Experimental Work. The method of
tendency, however, for the hardness
preparing the alloys w a s described
values t o increaseat certain quenching
previously. ( Conventional techniques
temperatures. Thus, for t h e 0.5%
were used for the hardness and tensile
tests - a crosshead speed of 0.05 carbon alloy, higher hardness values
were obtained i n the quenching temper-
in./min was used in the tensile tests.
ature range of 1100 t o 1400°C than
i n the range 1400 t o 1600°C. This
observation is also true for the 1.0
(')Me ta 11u rgy Di II is ion Quar ter 1% Progr CIS and 2.5% a l l o y s , whereas the 1.4%
Report for Period Ending January 31, 1952,
ORNL- 1267. alloy does not indicate t h i s trend.
4