Izvestiya vuzov. Yadernaya Energetika

The peer-reviewed scientific and technology journal. ISSN: 0204-3327

High-temperature ampoule tests of hafnium hydride

9/20/2024 2024 - #03

Polunin K.K. Bazyuk S.S. Guseynov S.V. Kuzma-Kichta Y.A. Melnikov G.N. Risovanyy V.D.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26583/npe.2024.3.06

UDC: 621.039.4

The paper presents the results of high-temperature ampoule tests for advanced absorbing materials based on hafnium hydride (HfHx). An installation and a methodology have been developed for the ampoule testing. The ampoule test installation consists of two vertical furnaces coaxially connected to each other. A low-temperature furnace is used for the ampoule preheating and exposure between cycles, and a high-temperature furnace is used for isothermal exposure to the temperature specified by the test program. Samples of δ- and ε-phase hafnium hydride were prepared, and an up to 5μm thick oxide coating was applied to some of the δ-HfHx samples. Experimental data were obtained on the thermal stability of hafnium hydride in an inert gas environment (argon, helium) at temperatures of up to 900°C. A comparison was made between the resistance of hafnium hydride obtained by direct (through) saturation and sintering of powder in conditions of cyclic thermal loading. Based on the results of the HfHx testing in a closed inert environment, it was noted that high-temperature exposure of the δ-HfH1,6 pellets (to temperatures of up to 900°C) does not lead to the hydride dissociation, while ε-HfH1,9 in an inert environment remains stable at up to 650°C, and there is hydrogen release taking place as a temperature of 800°C is reached, which leads to an increase in the ampoule pressure and to the ampoule depressurization. The experiment was numerically simulated by the finite element method using the ANSYS Mechanical 16.0 code, and the hafnium hydride heating rate and time to the specified test temperature were determined.

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high-temperature tests dehydrogenation hafnium hydride absorbing material fast neutron reactor control rod

Link for citing the article: Polunin K.K., Bazyuk S.S., Guseynov S.V., Kuzma-Kichta Y.A., Melnikov G.N., Risovanyy V.D. High-temperature ampoule tests of hafnium hydride. Izvestiya vuzov. Yadernaya Energetika. 2024, no. 3, pp. 68-80; DOI: https://doi.org/10.26583/npe.2024.3.06 (in Russian).

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