Mandrel diameter effect on ring-pull testing of nuclear fuel cladding

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155087
• Publication Date: 2024-04-10T06:42:25Z
• Authors: Peter M. Beck; Mathew L. Hayne; Cheng Liu; James Valdez; Thomas Nizolek; Samuel A. Briggs; Stuart A. Maloy; Tarik A. Saleh; Benjamin P. Eftink
• Keywords: Mandrel; Cladding (metalworking); Fixture; Tensile testing; Cylinder stress; Ductility (Earth science)

Inconsistencies in ring-pull testing methods for thin-walled tubes make it difficult to compare a material's mechanical properties the hoop direction presented past publications. The effect of test setup, specifically mandrel diameter, was investigated nuclear fuel cladding iron-chromium-aluminum (FeCrAl) alloy, C26M (Fe-12Cr-6Al-2Mo). Mandrel diameter can change how ring deforms and friction effects, further convoluting results from testing. To address impact size relation gaugeless samples were tested across range diameters compared uniaxial tensile tests same tube material. Two groups tested: an as-received, low ductility sample set annealed, high set, both cut extruded tube. By pairing systematic variation geometry with analysis local strain gradients using digital image correlation, this study investigates fixture on apparent effective fields provides guidance comparing previously published data. Certain features stress-strain curves (namely yield strength, ultimate uniform elongation) appeared have analogies These corresponding are expose biases material provide novel setup during experimental design.