Effect of Air-quenching on properties of CaO-Fe2O3 and CaO-B2O3 simulant materials for nuclear reactor

Abstract

Abstract In present study, the effect of Air-quenching on the properties of CaO-Fe2O3 (22:78 by wt. %) powder mixture and CaO-B2O3 (30:70 by wt. %) powder mixture was discussed. These materials are used in the nuclear industry as simulant material to study the melt coolability behavior. This study was carried out in order to development of CaO-Fe2O3 as a simulant material. The CaO-Fe2O3 and CaO-B2O3 powder mixture are melted in the Bottom pouring electric furnace then quenched in air. The quenched material have characterized through Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) with Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS), X-Ray Diffraction analysis (XRD), and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analysis. The FE-SEM was used to study the morphology of the material after air quenching. The particles size analysis of air quenched material was performed macroscopically. The elemental analysis was carried out through the Electron Diffraction Spectroscopy. XRD analysis was carried out to determine the phases after air quenching. The density and porosity of these materials also have been calculated using Archimedes principle.