Metallurgical investigation of the Egyptian Research Reactor-1 (ET-RR-1) fuel casing aluminium alloy

The mechanical and metallurgical properties of the ET-RR-1 fuel casing (assembly) material were investigated since there are no available data about this material. Samples were taken from the top and the middle of the casing; the samples were then heat-treated at different conditions. The mechanical properties of the as-received and heat-treated samples were compared. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate the microstructure of the tested samples and the fracture surface of the tensile specimens. All samples showed ductile fracture. Details of the results and the discussions are reported.