PNNL

Abstract

FeCrAl alloy system is recognized as one of candidate materials for accident tolerant fuel (ATF) cladding in nuclear power industry due to its high oxidation resistance under irradiation and high temperature environments. The concentrations of Cr and Al have a significant effect on elastic properties of the FeCrAl alloy. In this work, elastic constants C11, C12, C44, bulk modulus and shear modulus of FeCrAl alloy are calculated with molecular dynamics methods. We explore compositions with 1-15 wt.% Cr and 1-5 wt.% Al at temperature from 0 K to 750 K. The results show that the concentration of Al and Cr has a different effect on the elastic constants. When the concentration of Al is fixed, a decrease in bulk modulus and shear modulus with increasing Cr content is observed, consistent with previous experimental results. The dependence of elastic constants on temperature is also the same as in the experiments. All these results indicate the concentration of Cr and Al and service temperature should be considered to apply and develop FeCrAl alloy in accident-tolerant fuels in future.