• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2023

The major concern in the deep geological disposal of spent nuclear fuels include sulfide-induced corrosion and stress corrosion cracking of copper canisters. Sulfur diffusion into copper canisters may induce copper embrittlement by causing Cu₂S particle formation along grain boundaries; these sulfide particles can act as crack initiation sites and eventually cause embrittlement. To prevent the formation of Cu₂S along grain boundaries and sulfur-induced copper embrittlement, copper alloys are designed in this study. Alloying elements that can act as chemical anchors to suppress sulfur diffusion and the formation of Cu₂S along grain boundaries are investigated based on the understanding of the microscopic mechanism of sulfur diffusion and Cu₂S precipitation along grain boundaries. Copper alloy ingots are experimentally manufactured to validate the alloying elements. Microstructural analysis using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy demonstrates that Cu₂S particles are not formed at grain boundaries but randomly distributed within grains in all the vacuum arc-melted Cu alloys (Cu-Si, Cu-Ag, and Cu-Zr). Further studies will be conducted to evaluate the mechanical and corrosion properties of the developed Cu alloys.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.437-447
• /
• 2023

The failures of tailing dams have caused irreparable damage to human lives, assets and environment and this has ultimately resulted in great economic, social and environmental challenges worldwide. Due to this, investigation into mechanical behaviour of tailings has received some attention. However, the knowledge and understanding of mechanics of behaviour in iron tailings is still limited. This study investigates the mechanics of iron tailings from Nigeria considering grading, effects of fabric resulting from different sample preparations and the possibility of non-convergent behaviour. This was achieved by conducting series of one-dimensional compression tests in conjunction with index, microstructural, chemical and mineralogical tests. The materials are predominantly poorly graded, non-clayey and non-plastic. The tailings are characterised by angular particles with no obvious particle aggregations and dominated by silicon, iron, aluminium, haematite and quartz. The compression paths do not converge and unique normal compression lines are not found and this is an important feature of the transitional mode of behaviour. The behaviour of these iron tailings therefore depends on initial specific volume. The preparation methods also have effect on the compression paths of the samples. The gradings of the samples have an influence on the degree of transitional behaviour but the preparation methods do affect the degree of convergence. The transitional mode of behaviour in these iron tailings investigated is very strong.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.213-219
• /
• 2024

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a process that fabricates products by manufacturing materials according to a three-dimensional model. It has recently gained attention due to its environmental advantages, including reduced energy consumption and high material utilization rates. However, controlling defects such as melting issues and residual stress, which can occur during metal additive manufacturing, poses a challenge. The trial-and-error verification of these defects is both time-consuming and costly. Consequently, efforts have been made to develop phenomenological models that understand the influence of process variables on defects, and mechanical/ electrical/thermal properties of geometrically complex products. This paper introduces modeling techniques that can simulate the powder additive manufacturing process. The focus is on representative metal additive manufacturing processes such as Powder Bed Fusion (PBF), Direct Energy Deposition (DED), and Binder Jetting (BJ) method. To calculate thermal-stress history and the resulting deformations, modeling techniques based on Finite Element Method (FEM) are generally utilized. For simulating the movements and packing behavior of powders during powder classification, modeling techniques based on Discrete Element Method (DEM) are employed. Additionally, to simulate sintering and microstructural changes, techniques such as Monte Carlo (MC), Molecular Dynamics (MD), and Phase Field Modeling (PFM) are predominantly used.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.211-217
• /
• 2024

The growing significance of sustainable energy technologies underscores the need for safe and efficient management of spent nuclear fuels (SNFs), particularly via deep geological disposal (DGD). DGD involves the long-term isolation of SNFs from the biosphere to ensure public safety and environmental protection, necessitating materials with high corrosion resistance for DGD canisters. This study investigated the feasibility of a Cu-Ni film, fabricated via additive manufacturing (AM), as a corrosion-resistant layer for DGD canister applications. A wire-fed AM technique was used to deposit a millimeter-scale Cu-Ni film onto a carbon steel (CS) substrate. Electrochemical analyses were conducted using aerated groundwater from the KAERI underground research tunnel (KURT) as an electrolyte with an NaCl additive to characterize the oxic corrosion behavior of the Cu-Ni film. The results demonstrated that the AM-fabricated Cu-Ni film exhibited enhanced corrosion resistance (manifested as lower corrosion current density and formation of a dense passive layer) in an NaCl-supplemented groundwater solution. Extensive investigations are necessary to elucidate microstructural performance, mechanical properties, and corrosion resistance in the presence of various corroding agents to simplify the implementation of this technology for DGD canisters.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.41-48
• /
• 2000

In this study, microstructure and mechanical properties and electrical conductivities of in situ Cu-Fe-Xi(Xi=Ag, Cr or Co) alloy wires obtained by cold drawing combined with intermediate heat treatments have investigated. During cold working the primary and secondary dendrite arms are aligned along the drawing direction and elongated into filaments after deformation processing. The addition of Ag was found to be more effective in reducing the microstructural scale at the given draw ratio than that of Co or Cr throughout the drawing processing. The ultimate tensile strength and the conductivity of the Cu-Fe based composites containing Ag were higher than those of Cu-Fe composites containing Co or Cr. The good mechanical and electrical properties of Cu-Fe-Ag wires may be associated with the more uniform distribution of the finer filaments in the wires containing silver. The strength of Cu-Fe-Xi composites is dependent on the spacing of the Fe filaments in accord with a Hall-Petch relationship. The fracture surfaces of all the specimens showed ductile-type fracture and iron filaments occasionally observed on the fracture surfaces.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.8 no.10
• /
• pp.918-924
• /
• 1998

This study has been carried out to investigate the effect of reaction milling time on the synthesis of Ti- TiC p powder synthesised from the elemental titanium and activated carbon by reaction milling(RM), and the effect of vacu­u urn hot pressing temperature and TiC volume fraction on microstructural and mechanical properties of Ti- TiC com­p posite $\infty$ns이idated by vacuum hot pressing(VHP).T The elemental powders of titanium and activated carbon can be converted into Ti- TiC composite powders by reac­t tion milling for about 300hours, and were the average grain size of the as- milled powders has been measured to be a about $5\mu\textrm{m}$. The relative density of Ti- TiC VHPed above $1000^{\circ}C$ during Ihr is about 98% and the mechanical properties o of In- situ Ti- TiC composites are improved by TiC particle dispersed uniformly on titanium matrix. In order to investi­g gate thermal stability of Ti- TiC composite, after annealing at $600^{\circ}C$ for 80hrs micro- Vickers hardness have been per­f formed, and the values have been shown little changed as compared with those before annealing. The compact has b been tested on high temperature compressive test at $700^{\circ}C$ and has showed a high temperature compressive strength of 330MPa in a Ti- 20vol% TiC.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
• /
• v.38 no.6
• /
• pp.111-120
• /
• 2018

In this study, the effects of two different casting methods (gravity casting and, diecasting) and various solid-solution conditions on the mechanical properties of ASC (Al-10.5wt%Si-1.75wt%Cu) and ALDC12 (Al-10.3wt%Si-1.72wt%Cu-0.76wt%Fe-0.28wt% Mn-0.32wt%Mg-0.9wt%Zn) alloys were investigated. A thermodynamic solidification analysis program (PANDAT) was used to predict the liquidus, solidus, and phases of the used alloys. In the results of an XRD analysis, ${\beta}$-AlFeSi peaks were observed only in the ALDC12 alloy regardless of the casting method or SST (solid-solution treatment) conditions. However, according to the results of a FE-SEM observation, both ${\theta}(Al_2Cu)$ and ${\beta}$-AlFeSi were found to exist besides ${\alpha}$-Al and eutectic Si in the gravity-casted ASC alloy at $500^{\circ}C$ after a SST of 120min. The ${\alpha}$-AlFeSi and ${\beta}$-AlFeSi phases including the eutectic phases were also found to exist in the ALDC12 alloy. The results of a microstructural observation and analyses by XRD, FE-SEM and EDS were in good agreement with the PANDAT results. The gravity-casted ALDC12 and ASC specimens showed the highest Y.S. and UTS values after aging for three hours at $180^{\circ}C$ after a SST at $500^{\circ}C$ for 30min. At longer solid-solution treatment times at $500^{\circ}C$ in the gravity-casted ALDC12 and ASC specimens, the elongations of the ASC alloys increased, whereas they decreased slightly in the ALDC12 alloys.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.188-194
• /
• 1999

To investigate the effect of niobium and tin on the mechanical properties of zirconium alloys, the tensile test and the microstructural analysis were performed on the Zr-based binary(Zr-xNb, Zr-xSn) and ternary(Zr-0.8Sn-xNb, Zr-0.4Nb-xSn) alloys. As the content of Nb or Sn element increased, the strengths of the Zr-based alloys tended to gradually increase. The increase of mechanical strength was remarkable strength was remarkable in the range more than the solubility of Nb and Sn. The strengthening effects were discussed on the basis of the solid solution hardening, the precipitate hardening, the grain size effect, and the texture effect. The mechanical strength is mainly controlled by the solid solution hardening and additionally by the precipitate hardening in the content more than solubility limit of Nb and Sn. The grain refinement also has a slight effect on the strength of the zirconium alloys with the addition of Nb and Sn. However, the texture effect can be excluded due to the same Kearns number regardless of the content of alloying elements.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
• /
• v.5 no.2 s.14
• /
• pp.14-21
• /
• 2001

In order to investigate the damage mechanism of the coupler transferring LPG, microstructural observation and chemical analysis of the couplers operated for the long time in the LPG stations and virgin 6/4 forged-brass corrosion-tested were conducted. Their microstructure was consisted of two phases that bright $\beta$ precipitates were irregularly dispersed in $\alpha$ matrix. The chemical compositions of oxide layer on the surface of the used coupler were composed of S, C, O, Al, Si, etc. as well as Cu and Zn. In environmental corrosion tests of both $10\%$ HCl and Mattsson solutions, no apparent deviations in mechanical impact strength of forged-brass was observed. While, in U-bend stress corrosion cracking specimen, some microcracks were observed.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.190-196
• /
• 2010

In this paper, rapid solidified Mg-4.3Zn-0.7Y (at.%) alloy powders were prepared using an inert gas atomizer, followed by a severe plastic deformation technique of high pressure torsion (HPT) for consolidation of the powders. The gas atomized powders were almost spherical in shape, and grain size was as fine as less than $5\;{\mu}m$ due to rapid solidification. Plastic deformation responses during HPT were simulated using the finite element method, which shows in good agreement with the analytical solutions of a strain expression in torsion. Varying the HPT processing temperature from ambient to 473 K, the behavior of powder consolidation, matrix microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of the compacts was investigated. The gas atomized powders were deformed plastically as well as fully densified, resulting in effective grain size refinements and enhanced microhardness values.