Abstract
A non-destructive neutron scattering method was developed to precisely measure the uptake of total hydrogen in nuclear grade Ziraloy-4 cladding. The hydriding apparatus consists of a closed stainless steel vessel that contains Zr alloy specimens and H gas. By controlling the initial H gas pressure in the vessel and the temperature profile, target H concentrations from tens of ppm to a few thousands of wppm have been successfully achieved. Following H charging, the H content of the hydrided specimens was measured using the vacuum hot extraction method (VHE), by which the samples with desired H concentration were selected for the neutron study. Small angle neutron incoherent scattering (SANIS) were performed in the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge national Laboratory (ORNL). Our study indicates that a very small amount (20 ppm) H in commercial Zr cladding can be measured very accurately in minutes for a wide range of H concentration by a nondestructive method. The H distribution in a tube sample was obtained by scaling the neutron scattering rate with a factor, which is determined by calibration process with direct chemical analysis method on the specimen. This scale factor can be used for future test with unknown H concentration, thus provide a nondestructive method for absolute H concentration determination.
