TY - CONF A1 - Gaddampally, Mohan Reddy A1 - Zencker, Uwe A1 - Völzke, Holger T1 - Failure Analysis on Irradiated Claddings Subjected to Long-Term Dry Interim Storage N2 - Long-term dry interim storage may adversely affect the mechanical properties of spent fuel rods, possibly resulting in a reduced resilience during handling or transport after storage. Since the cladding is the first barrier for the spent fuel pellets, its integrity must be demonstrated until the end of interim storage and subsequent transportation. An established method for characterizing the cladding material is the ring compression test, in which a small, cylindrical sample of the cladding tube is subjected to a compressive load. This test is a laboratory representation of a load case where the fuel rod is crushed. Pre-storage drying and the early stage of interim storage can subject the cladding to higher temperatures and higher pressure induced tensile hoop stresses than those associated with in-reactor operation and pool storage. Under these conditions, radial hydrides may precipitate in zirconium-based alloys (Zircaloy) during slow cooling, which result in embrittlement of the cladding material and eventually a possible sudden failure of cladding integrity under additional mechanical loads. Especially long, continuous radial hydride structures and low temperature can cause severe embrittlement of claddings and finally failure by fracture even at small deformations. Therefore, the study of hydride morphology plays an important role in describing the brittle failure behaviour of the claddings. The focus of the presented research is on the development of appropriate numerical methods for predicting the mechanical behaviour and identification of limiting conditions to prevent brittle fracture of Zircaloy claddings. Typical hydride morphologies are shown. An iterative inverse analysis method is described for deriving the elastic-plastic material properties in the hoop direction of a ring-shaped sample. A modelling approach based on cohesive zones is explained which is able to reproduce the propagation of cracks initiated at radial hydrides in the zirconium matrix. The developed methods are applied to defueled samples of cladding alloy ZIRLO®, which were subjected to a thermo-mechanical treatment to reorient existing circumferential hydrides to radial hydrides. A selected sample showing sudden load drops during a quasi-static ring compression test is analysed by means of fracture mechanics for illustrative purposes. This project as part of the European Joint Programme on Radioactive Waste Management has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 847593. T2 - BAM-Kolloquium der Abteilung 3 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 05.06.2023 KW - Cladding Embrittlement KW - Cohesive Zone Modelling KW - Ring Compression Test KW - Spent Nuclear Fuel PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-57598 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -