Effects of Ce Addition on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Accident-Tolerance Fe-Cr-Al Fuel Cladding Materials

Fe-Cr-Al alloys are promising materials for accident-tolerance fuel cladding applications due to their excellent performance of oxidation and corrosion resistance under elevated temperature. In this study, effects of the addition of a small neutron absorption cross section rare-earth element Cerium (Ce) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Fe-Cr-Al alloys with 0–0.1 wt% Ce have been investigated. As Ce content increased, the grains became size-refining obviously and number of precipitates increased. The results of EDS showed that the precipitates were mainly consisted of intermetallic compounds. Notably, the ultimate tensile strength and elongation reached the optimized values when the content of Ce was 0.02 wt%. However, the tensile properties decreased when Ce content was above 0.05 wt%, which may be due to the excess of intermetallic compounds.