Mechanistic understanding of irradiation-induced corrosion of zirconium alloys in nuclear power plants: Stimuli, status, and outlook

Conference · Tue May 01 00:00:00 EDT 1990

OSTI ID:5906170

Johnson, Jr, A B; Ishigure, K; Nechaev, A F; Reznichenko, E A; Cox, B; Lemaignan, C; Petrik, N G

Failures in the basic materials used in nuclear power plants continue to be costly and insidious, despite increasing industry vigilance to catch failures before they degrade safety. For instance, the overall costs to the US industry from materials problems could amount to as much as $10 billion annually. Moreover, estimates indicate that the cost of a pipe failure in a nuclear plant is one hundred times greater than the cost of a similar failure in a coal-fired plant. There are important practical stimuli and much scope for further understanding of the effects of irradiation on Zr-alloys (and other materials used in nuclear installations) by careful experimentation. Moreover, these studies need to address the effect of irradiation on all components of heterogeneous systems: the metal, the oxide and the environment, and especially those processes recurring at the interphases between these components. The present paper is aimed at providing specialists with some systematic information on the subject and with important considerations on the key items for further experimentation.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 5906170
• Report Number(s): PNL-SA-18065; CONF-9005400-1; ON: DE92004516
• Resource Relation: Conference: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conference, Alushta (USSR), 22-25 May 1990
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
REACTOR COMPONENTS
RELIABILITY
ZIRCALOY
CORROSION
RADIATION EFFECTS
ZIRCONIUM BASE ALLOYS
HYDROGENATION
IRRADIATION
NEUTRONS
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
OXIDATION
ALLOYS
BARYONS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
FERMIONS
HADRONS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEONS
POWER PLANTS
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
ZIRCONIUM ALLOYS
220200* - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Components & Accessories
360106 - Metals & Alloys- Radiation Effects
360105 - Metals & Alloys- Corrosion & Erosion