Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
  • G21C—NUCLEAR REACTORS
  • G21C3/00—Reactor fuel elements and their assemblies; Selection of substances for use as reactor fuel elements
  • G21C3/02—Fuel elements
  • G21C3/04—Constructional details
  • G21C3/06—Casings; Jackets
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
  • C22C—ALLOYS
  • C22C19/00—Alloys based on nickel or cobalt
  • C22C19/007—Alloys based on nickel or cobalt with a light metal (alkali metal Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs; earth alkali metal Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Al Ga, Ge, Ti) or B, Si, Zr, Hf, Sc, Y, lanthanides, actinides, as the next major constituent
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
  • C22C—ALLOYS
  • C22C27/00—Alloys based on rhenium or a refractory metal not mentioned in groups C22C14/00 or C22C16/00
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
  • Y02E30/00—Energy generation of nuclear origin
  • Y02E30/30—Nuclear fission reactors
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
  • Y10T428/12—All metal or with adjacent metals
  • Y10T428/12493—Composite; i.e., plural, adjacent, spatially distinct metal components [e.g., layers, joint, etc.]
  • Y10T428/12535—Composite; i.e., plural, adjacent, spatially distinct metal components [e.g., layers, joint, etc.] with additional, spatially distinct nonmetal component
  • Y10T428/12583—Component contains compound of adjacent metal
  • Y10T428/1259—Oxide
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
  • Y10T428/12—All metal or with adjacent metals
  • Y10T428/12493—Composite; i.e., plural, adjacent, spatially distinct metal components [e.g., layers, joint, etc.]
  • Y10T428/12736—Al-base component
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
  • Y10T428/12—All metal or with adjacent metals
  • Y10T428/12493—Composite; i.e., plural, adjacent, spatially distinct metal components [e.g., layers, joint, etc.]
  • Y10T428/12771—Transition metal-base component
  • Y10T428/12806—Refractory [Group IVB, VB, or VIB] metal-base component
  • Y10T428/12819—Group VB metal-base component

Definitions

• This invention relates to alloys consisting of sohd solutions of aluminum in certain transition metals that DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
• the present invention provides a type of alloy and a bearing construction which avoids the problems mentioned above.
• an alloy consisting of a solid solution of aluminum in a transition metal is treated to generate a barrier or surface film which is impervious to and is stable in molten sodium.
• a principal requirement of an alloy made in accordance with the principles of this invention is the use of a transition metal with the aluminum in which the aluminum has an appreciable solid solubility.
• the presence of suflicient aluminum in the alloy is provided to form a barrier layer consisting principally of A1 0
• This barrier layer insoluble in and impervious to the metal matrix and at least partially adherent to the alloy, provides the principal barrier to sintering or adhesion of one loaded unit to another.
• a barrier layer of A1 0 must be present to an appreciable extent in the resulting solid solution oxide, Cr O -Al O for the alloy to be useful as a bearing alloy in a hot alkali metal system.
• the use of such an alloy, as a barrier layer for separating liquid sodium from its containment, will reduce or eliminate mass transfer between the liquid metal and the container material.
• alloys prepared in accordance with this invention are as follows:
• EXAMPLE 1 The iron-aluminum binary shows extensive solid solubility of aluminum in iron (approximately 50 a/o). In this system, because of embrittling effects of high aluminum additions and the possible formation of Fe Al ordered solid solutions, the anticipated useful high aluminum limit is somewhat lower. By a/o is meant atom percent.
• a typical binary alloy near the useful upper aluminum limit was prepared as follows:
• High purity Al (20.45 g.) was arc melted 5 times in an inert atmosphere copper cold hearth furnace with 193 grams of high purity iron without measurable weight loss.
• the resulting alloy corresponded to 17.97 a/o Al and 82.03 a/o Fe.
• the alloy was then cut into fragments weighing 0.93:.05 g. to yield in. fragments which were then placed into hemispheric cavities in a copper block and melted to yield nearly spherical alloy pellets.
• the spheres were tested under 11.6 lbs. load in flowing 700 C. sodium and examination afterwards showed that they did not adhere to each other.
• EXAMPLE 2 A second group of Re-Al alloy spheres was prepared and oxidized as in the preceding example except with the composition 10 a/o Ala/o Fe. The resulting spheres were similarly tested under an 11.6 lb. load flowing 700 C. sodium and these spheres also did not stick to each other.
• EXAMPLE 3 Another group of Fe-Al alloy spheres was prepared as in the previous example, but were oxidized by pretreating for 8 hours at 1000 C. in an H +'I-Ie atmosphere saturated with water at 0 C. followed by flushing with dry H +He at 1000" C. before rapid cooling to produce a protective film containing A1 0 over the surfaces. Tests showed that the resulting spheres were not sintered together in the sodium alkali environment mentioned previously. However, it is believed that if the protective film were to be removed by abrasion in a hot sodium system, it would take longer to heal by reaction with trace oxygen (i.e. 10 to 500 ppm.) in the sodium than would a 15 or 20 a/o aluminum alloy. It is thought that to obtain the protective coating or barrier layer which is self-healing it is desirable to have an alloy containing aluminum approaching the maximum amount consistent with acceptable mechanical properties for the particular alloy application.
• the upper limit for aluminum content of these alloys is'taken as the maximum solubility of aluminum in the major element at 600 C. of above. Because of poor workability (brittlenessj of saturated solid solutions of aluminum in these elements, less than the maximum aluminum content is generally desirable.
• composition limits for a variety of aluminum alloys which maybe suitable for hot sodium applicatiou's are given in the following table.
• alloys having the ability of functioning in a hot sodium environment. These alloys may be used to form the articles such as bearings having the anti-seizing surfaces, or the alloys may be used as cladding materials oni other materials on the articles before coating, if desired and feasible for the particular application. a
• An article of manufacture having ana-n-ti-seizing surface layer thereon for use in a liquid sodium system, said surface layer comprising an alloy of a solid solution of aluminum in vanadium, the aluminum beingpresent in the range of 3 to aton1 percent, said layer having an in situ oxidized barrier impervious to and stable in liquid sodium, the barrier consisting principally of A1 0 2.
• a method of preparing an anti-seizing surface layer foraan article of manufacture for usesin molten sodium comprising depositing a surface layer of an alloy of a solid solution of aluminum in vanadium, the aluminum being present in the range of 3 to 40atom percent, upon the article of manufacture, and simultaneously heat treating and oxidizing the surface layer at a temperatureof at least 900 C. whereby an oxidized surface barrier is formed on the surface layer.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Materials Engineering (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Metallurgy (AREA)
• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Plasma & Fusion (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• High Energy & Nuclear Physics (AREA)
• Powder Metallurgy (AREA)
• Sliding-Contact Bearings (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Cited By (2)

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Citations (7)

• 1966
  • 1966-12-13 US US601823A patent/US3496030A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 1967
  • 1967-12-08 GB GB55831/67A patent/GB1165828A/en not_active Expired
  • 1967-12-11 DE DE1967U0014495 patent/DE1621527B2/de active Granted
  • 1967-12-11 CH CH1732767A patent/CH516651A/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1967-12-12 SE SE17034/67A patent/SE317855B/xx unknown
  • 1967-12-13 FR FR1553152D patent/FR1553152A/fr not_active Expired
  • 1967-12-13 BE BE707899D patent/BE707899A/xx unknown

Patent Citations (7)

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