Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThe purpose of this work was to explore the impact of neutron irradiation (1018 n/m2 to 1021 n/m2) on the aluminum alloy 2024 T-3, and several corrosion resistant treatments commonly used. The irradiation was conducted in the Utah Nuclear Engineering Programs Reactor facility using the Fast Neutron Irradiation Facility (FNIF) with a 1 MeV equivalent beam and the Center Irradiator (CI) with average neutron energy of 0.58 MeV. Historically, materials tests have focused on mechanical failures occurring at very high fluence. These same tests have generally been conducted for pure materials: the limited research existing for alloyed materials focuses on power plant materials such as zircaloy and steel. This body of information is mainly used to avoid catastrophic performance failures. Small research and test reactors operating at low power will subject core materials to fluence from 1014 n/m2 to 1024 n/m2. Aluminum alloys are very common in these systems. Materials used in research reactors, such as aluminum, have been deemed adequate due to high radiation tolerance and low mechanical failure rates. While aluminum and its alloys are a well-defined set of materials in nonradiation environments, there are very little published data for them for low fluence neutron radiation. This work measured Al 2024's (T-3) thermal conductivity, electrical resistivity, oxide layer thickness, oxide/metal interface and corrosion resistance (using passive current density) for Alodine, Anodize type II, Anodize type III and native oxide. These measurements were taken before and after irradiation and results were examined. Over the course of 30 to 50 years, property changes will likely impact thermal diffusion, corrosion properties and electrical properties. Defining these changes may give future engineers the tools needed to safely justify life extensions and build inspection methods to identify pre-failure conditions