Enhancement of adhesion strength of thick copper coatings on used nuclear fuel steel containers prepared with the forced pulsed waterjet ( FPWJ )

Canadian nuclear power generator industry reportedly has nearly 2 million fuel rod bundles being held in above ground water-cooled reservoir awaiting for safe and permanent methods of underground storage. The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) proposed an encapsulation storage design concept using thick carbon steel pods filled with spent nuclear fuel rods permanently sealed and encased in bentonite clay to be stored deep underground in controlled repository sites. To protect the steel pods from environmental corrosion, pure copper coating applied by Cold Spray technology can be used, which has key technical and financial merits over other possible coating processes. Conventional surface preparation method (grit blasting) leads to reduced coating adhesion and potential delamination. However, Forced Pulsed Water Jet (FPWJ) surface preparation delivers a much more intricate surface topography that enables copper coatings to effectively bond to carbon steel without any foreign media contamination. The paper will discuss the various coating/substrate bonding mechanisms through experimental work.

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