The thermal and mechanical properties of several vanadium alloys have
been examined in prev
studies [7][6][5][4][3]. Certain alloys have
proved resistant to radiation induced swelling and ductility loss and
offer low residual activation. Although data on the physical
properties of the PULSAR-II reference alloy V-4Cr-4Ti is
scarce, the properties of V-15Cr-5Ti are well-established
and should be similar. Table 1
lists several of the physical properties
of V-15Cr-5Ti. The relatively high thermal conductivity, low thermal
expansion coefficient and low modulus
make it an excellent candidate for thermal loading
applications. Note that although this alloy has a melting
temperature of 1890C, concerns of irradiation
embrittlement restrict us to less than 700
C.
Figure 1
illustrates the fatigue properties of unirradiated V-15Cr-5Ti.
At 40,000 cycles, the allowable alternating stress
(alternating stress = stress range) is 250 MPa.
This is comparable to 316 stainless steel.