Lifetime improvement of sheathed thermocouples for use in high-temperature and thermal operations

Premature failure of small-diameter, magnesium-oxide-insulated sheathed thermocouples occurred when they were placed within nuclear fuel rod simulators to measure high temperatures and to follow severe thermal transients encountered during simulation of nuclear accidents in Oak Ridge National Laboratory thermal-hydraulic test facilities. Investigation of thermally cycled thermocouples yielded three criteria for improvement of thermocouple lifetime: (1) reduction of oxygen impurities prior to and during their fabrication; (2) refinement of thermoelement grain size during their fabrication; and (3) elimination of prestrain prior to use above their recrystallization temperature. The first and third criteria were satisfied by improved techniques of thermocouple assembly and by a recovery anneal prior to thermocouple use.