The Fabrication and Characteristics of Gd2O3 Particle Reinforced
Aluminum Matrix Composite
Tae Gyu Lee and Ho Jin Ryu*
Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST),
291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea
*
[email protected] 1. Introduction 2. Experimental procedure
Neutron absorbing materials are very important for 2.1 Sample preparation
spent nuclear fuel (SNF) management, such as SNF
transport and SNF storage. Neutron absorbing The fabrication procedure of bulk Gd 2O3 consists
materials not only maintain sub-criticality but also of the following steps. First, Gd2O3 SRZGHURIȝP
conduct roles of mechanical support and heat diameter was compacted by a uni-axial press with
spreader. 400 MPa pressure and sintered at 1500ଇ for 1, 2, 3
Recently, B4C reinforced composite is used for hours in air mood.
neutron absorbing materials because of its high The fabrication procedure of bulk Gd 2O3 consists
neutron absorbing capacity [1] and structural RI WKH IROORZLQJ VWHSV ȝP ȝP DQG ȝP
integrity. However, B4C reinforced composite has its sized Gd2O3 powder were mixed with aluminum
limitation of brittleness. When contents of B4C alloy 7075 powder with 1.5 : 98.5 ratio by a 3D
increased, the brittleness of B4C reinforced mixer, 40 RPM. The mixtures were pressurized at 50
composite also increases [2]. MPa for sintering in a spark plasma sintering
Gd2O3 is the most promising candidate for machine, heated to 450ଇ for 5 minutes and held for
replacing B4C due to its superior neutron absorbing 5 minutes.
ability. Gd has 60 times higher thermal neutron
capture cross section so that it has 15 times better 2.2 Hardness test
neutron capture ability than B 4C when Gd2O3 is used
for reinforcement of composite. The surface of bulk Gd2O3 and Gd2O3 reinforced
By adopting Gd2O3 as a reinforcement of composite for hardness test was polished to 2000grit
composite, 15 times smaller reinforcement contents using SiC polishing paper. The hardness was
are needed than B4C composite for making neutron measured through Vickers hardness tester.
absorbing materials that have same neutron capture
ability which means the composite can maintain its 2.3 Tensile test
own ductility and thermal conductivity.
However, characteristics of Gd2O3 and Gd2O3 For the tensile test, the sintered samples were cut
reinforced composites have to be investigated to to a size of 2.7 * 2.0 * 11 cubic mm. Then, the tensile
check its feasibility for using actual neutron test was performed using a universal testing machine
absorbing materials. The characteristics that should (UTM, Instron 5583, Instron Corporation, USA). At
be checked are mechanical properties, thermal this time, the test was performed following ASTM
properties, and chemical reaction between matrix E8.
alloys.
In this study, bulk Gd2O3 and Gd2O3 reinforced 2.4 Microstructure
composite were fabricated and characterized by
Vickers hardness test, tensile test and scanning The dispersion of the reinforcement and the
electron microscope (SEM). microstructure of the specimen were observed with a
2017 ⦽ǎႊᔍᖒ⠱ʑྜྷ⦺⫭ ⇵ĥ⦺ᚁྙם ⫭ݡ᧞Ḳ 89
scanning electron microscope (SEM). To determine 4. Conclusion
the mode of failure of the material, the fracture
surface after the bending test was also observed with In this study, characteristics of bulk Gd2O3 and
SEM. Gd2O3 reinforced composite were investigated. The
bending test result shows that two times higher
3. Result maximum strain than 20 vol% B4C reinforced
composite. The microstructure analysis shows the
3.1 Hardness test well dispersion of Gd2O3 and no macro secondary
phase.
The bending test has not yet been carried out. In conclusion, Gd2O3 reinforced composite has no
disadvantages in terms of mechanical strength and
3.2 Tensile test interfacial chemical reaction with aluminum 70705
matrix.
With proper further studies, Gd 2O3 reinforced
composite can replace the B4C reinforced composite
as a next generation neutron absorbing material.
5. Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Research
Foundation of Korea (NRF, No. 2014M3C1A-
9060721) grant funded by the Ministry of Science,
Fig. 1. Comparison of Gd2O3 1.5 vol% reinforced ICT and Future Planning.
composite (green) and B4C 20 vol% composite (blue) in
bending test.
REFERENCES
The tensile test has not yet been carried out, but
according to bending test results (Fig. 1), the [1] Zhang, P., Li, Y., Wang, W., Gao, Z., & Wang, B.,
maximum strength is increased and maximum strain "The design, fabrication and properties of B 4
increased almost twice. C/Al neutron absorbers." Journal of Nuclear
materials, 437(1), 350-358 (2013).
3.3 Microstructure [2] Viala, J. C., Bouix, J., Gonzalez, G., & Esnouf,
C., "Chemical reactivity of aluminium with
boron carbide.", Journal of Materials Science,
32(17), 4559-4573 (1997).
Fig. 2. Cross section image of 1.5 vol% Gd 2O3 composite.
The Gd2O3 reinforecd composite shows well -
dispersed microstructure and no macro scale
secondary phase (Fig. 2).
90 2017 ⦽ǎႊᔍᖒ⠱ʑྜྷ⦺⫭ ⇵ĥ⦺ᚁྙם ⫭ݡ᧞Ḳ
