Germinative Grain Growth Characteristics of Zirconium
- North American Aviation, Inc., Downey, CA (United States)
Zirconium, because of its low neutron capture cross-section, is potentially an important structural material for use in nuclear reactors. At temperatures above 950° F, zirconium which has been strained a critical amount will experience germinative grain growth during recrystallization. This grain growth can result in a reduction in the fatigue life by a factor of 2 to a factor of 9 at both high and low temperatures. The critical strains for zirconium vary from 15 per cent at 900° F to about 2 per cent at 1125° F, while those for zircaloy III vary from 15 per cent at 1050° F to 5 per cent at 1200° F. A study was made of the variation of recrystallized grain size versus plastic strain and annealing temperature. This showed that in order to avoid germinative grain growth, a temperature limitation must be placed on inhomogeneously deformed zirconium and zircaloy III. The limitations are between 900° and 950° F for zirconium and 1050° F for zircaloy III. Zircaloy II experiences no germinative grain growth up to 1200° F.
- Research Organization:
- North American Aviation, Inc., Downey, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AT(11-1)-GEN-8
- NSA Number:
- NSA-11-009331
- OSTI ID:
- 4371040
- Report Number(s):
- NAA-SR--1926
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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