Boiling performance and material robustness of modified surfaces with multi scale structures for fuel cladding development

•We improved boiling performance and material robustness using surface modification.•We combined micro/millimeter post structures and nanoparticles with heat treatments.•Compactly-arranged micrometer posts had improved boiling performance.•CHF increased significantly due to capillary pumping by the deposited NP layers.•Sintering procedure increased mechanical strength of the NP coating surface.

By regulating the geometrical characteristics of multi-scale structures and by adopting heat treatment for protective layer of nanoparticles (NPs), we improved critical heat flux (CHF), boiling heat transfer (BHT), and mechanical robustness of the modified surface. We fabricated 1-mm and 100-μm post structures and deposited NPs on the structured surface as a nano-scale structured layer and protective layer at the same time, then evaluated the CHF and BHT and material robustness of the modified surfaces. On the structured surfaces without NPs, the surface with compactly-arranged micrometer posts had improved CHF (118%) and BHT (41%). On the surface with structures on which NPs had been deposited, CHF increased significantly (172%) due to capillary pumping by the deposited NP layers. The heat treatment improved robustness of coating layer in comparison to the one of before heat treatment. In particular, low-temperature sintering increased the hardness of the modified surface by 140%. The increased mechanical strength of the NP coating is attributed to reduction in coating porosity during sintering. The combination of micrometer posts structures and sintered NP coating can increase the safety, efficiency and reliability of advanced nuclear fuel cladding.