An innovative technology for fabrication of advanced nuclear protection materials

Oxide Dispersion Strengthened alloys (ODS alloys) typically consist of a metal matrix with nanoparticles of ceramic oxides dispersed within it. The microstructural stability of nanoparticles results in an improvement of the mechanical properties of alloys at high temperatures and in a high resistance to neutron irradiation. This makes the ODS alloys good candidates for applications in the nuclear environment. In the present work different components with metal matrix and dispersed ceramic oxides and carbon fibers have been produced in order to assess their applicability in containers for low and medium level Radioactive Wastes (RWs). An innovative technology has been adopted for the production of the ODS components which simplifies and reduces the costs of the manufacture process. The applied technology is the tape casting followed by thermal and mechanical processes that lead to the consolidation and the solid-state mixing of the alloys.