Publications Details
Lifetime predictions for alumina ceramics used in nuclear weapons stockpile components
Ceramic materials are used extensively in non-nuclear components in the weapons stockpile including neutron tubes, firing sets, radar, strong link and weak link assemblies, batteries, and current/voltage stacks. Ceramics also perform critical functions in electronics, passively as insulators and actively as resistors and capacitors. Glass and ceramic seals also provide hermetic electrical feedthroughs in connectors for many weapons components. The primary goal of the ceramic material lifetime prediction program is to provide the enhanced surveillance program with the capability to specify the reliability and lifetimes of glass and ceramic-containing components under conditions typical of the stockpile environment. The authors have studied the reliability and subcritical crack growth (SCG) behavior of 94% alumina (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}), which is likely the most common ceramic in the stockpile. Measurements have been made on aluminas manufactured by four war reserve qualified vendors (Coors, Wesgo, AlSiMag, and Diamonite). These materials are expected to be representative of typical product obtained from vendors who have supplied alumina for weapons components during the past several decades.