Mechanical characterization of SS304 as TRIGA reactor fuel cladding after cyclic oxidation at low temperatures

Indonesia has two TRIGA research reactors operating in Bandung and Yogyakarta. TRIGA reactor uses UZrH1.6 fuel with SS304 fuel cladding. During reactor operation, the fuel cladding potentially has performance decreasing, especially on mechanical integrity. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the cyclic oxidation on the tensile strength and hardness value of SS304 as fuel cladding in research reactor. The SS304 specimen was oxidized in cyclic oxidation in a furnace for 35 hours each cycle at temperatures of 300, 400, 500 and 600°C, respectively. Tensile test results show remaining strength at all of test temperature with 446 - 512 N/mm2 UTS range. The hardness test results show increasing trend of hardness value with increasing temperature. In general, cyclic oxidation treatment at these temperatures does not cause mechanical integrity degradation.