Performance Study of Silver-Indium-Cadmium Absorber Rods

To satisfy the design requirements of control rod used in nuclear power plants, a structurally-modified large-grain silver-indium-cadium absorber rod was manufactured, of which the chemical composition, grain size, physical properties, mechanical properties and thermal creep properties were tested, so as to analyze the effects of grain size and center hole on the performance of the absorber rod. Results show that the chemical composition of absorber rod can satisfy the requirements of ASTM standards, and the physical properties are consistent with that of the reference material; the thermal conductivity and thermal creep properties could be improved by increasing the grain size, when the strength would be lowered; the mechanical properties are not affected by the center hole. It is expected that the absorber rod can be used in nuclear power plants for long life-time services.