CX-270069: Electrically-Assisted Tubing Processes for Enhancing Manufacturability of Oxide Dispersion Strengthened Structural Materials for Nuclear Reactor Applications - Northwestern University

Northwestern University, in collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory, proposes to enhance the formability of nanostructured ferritic alloys (NFAs) such that high-strength thin-walled claddings can be successfully and economically manufactured for use in future nuclear reactors.  This will be accomplished by understanding the effects of continuous and pulsed electric currents on the deformation behavior of Fe-14Cr based NFA steels.  Mechanical and microstructural characterization under electrically-assisted forming will be conducted and simulated.  The findings will be further applied to establish innovative fabrication processes, i.e., electrically-assisted tube forming processes.