Metallurgical characterization of self catalytic structural materials for sulfuric acid decomposition

Eight heats of material with base alloy chemistries of Alloys 800 HT or 617 with platinum additions of 2, 5, 15, or 30 wt% have been characterized according to their microstructural features. The goals of characterization were to determine metallurgical stability for service as self-catalytic structural materials. The results presented herein will be useful to the development of a material for the construction of a heat exchanger designed for sulfuric acid decomposition. This type of heat exchanger is a key component to hydrogen generation by the thermochemical sulfur-iodine water-splitting process, a future technology that promises efficient hydrogen production if coupled to a Generation IV nuclear reactor heat source. Characterization of each material was carried out in the cast and wrought conditions with optical and SE microscopy, electron dispersive spectrometry, chemical composition analysis, and thermodynamic modeling. Materials have been characterized according to grain size and morphology, precipitate features, twinning characteristics, and platinum composition effects. Results indicate that platinum and carbon compositions have the greatest effect on the development of microstructural features.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Rigual, David Andrés

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Michael Driscoll.

• Nuclear Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34654

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/34654