Effect of soaking time at 1100 °c on the morphology and thermo-physical properties of CaO-Fe2O3 (26:74 by wt%) simulant material for nuclear reactor

Abstract

In present study, the effect of soaking time on morphology, phases, and thermo-physical properties of CaO-Fe2O3 (26:74 by wt%) powder mixture at constant heat treatment temperature (HTT) 1100 °C was discussed. This study was carried out to know thermal stability of the material at higher heat treatment temperature for different soaking time 1 h, 2 h, and 3 h. In the nuclear field, melt-coolability experiments perform with using simulant material. The material CaO-Fe2O3 (26:74 by wt%) may also be use as simulant material in the melt-coolability experiments to know the quenching behaviour of the material to stabilize and terminate the severe accident. In this study, the material CaO-Fe2O3 was characterized by using different characterization techniques. The pellets of CaO-Fe2O3 powder mixture were prepared by using hydraulic pressure machine with a load of 2.5 ton. These pellets were heat treated at constant heat treatment temperature (1100 °C) for different soaking time 1 h, 2 h, and 3 h. After heat treatment, the pellets were characterized through Field Emission-Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) with Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) to study the morphology and element of the material. X-Ray Diffraction analysis (XRD) was carried to find the phases of the material, crystallite size, dislocation density and micro strain in the material. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analysis was done to know the thermal behaviour of the material. The morphology, phases, thermal properties and dimensions of CaO-Fe2O3 were changed with changing the soaking time.