Development of 9Cr-ODS Martensitic Steel Claddings for Fuel Pins by means of Ferrite to Austenite Phase Transformation

For use as fuel cladding of liquid metal fast reactors, Fe-0.12C-9Cr-2W ODS martensitic steel claddings were developed by cold-rolling under the softened ferrite phase induced by slow cooling from austenite phase, subsequently by ferrite to austenite phase transformation to break up substantially elongated grains produced by cold-rolling at the final heat-treatment. The produced claddings showed noticeable improvement in tensile and creep rupture strength that are considerably superior to PNC-FMS and even austenitic PNC316 at higher temperature and extended time to rupture. The strength improvement is mainly attributed to titanium addition in ODS martensitic steels through its reduction of Y2O3 particle size and shortening inter-particles spacing. The behavior of oxide particle size reduction is associated with stoichiometry between Y2O3 and TiO2.