Effects of irradiation on the microstructural evolution and corrosion resistance of zirconium alloys
- National Tsing Hua Univ., Taiwan (China)
- Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Tao-Yuan (China)
Zircaloy-2 and Zircaloy-4 tubing materials were irradiated with 1 MeV proton at 350{degrees}C to doses of 0.01, 0.1, and 1 dpa respectively. Both microstructure examination and nodular corrosion test (500{degrees}C, 1500 psi steam) were performed in order to understand the relationship between the microstructural evolution and the corrosion resistance of these alloys under irradiation. Neutron-irradiated Zircaloy-2 specimens which were obtained from a failed BWR fuel rod cladding were also studied. Specimens of three different neutron fluences were investigated; namely, 2.6x10{sup 24}, 3.2x10{sup 25}, 3.8x10{sup 25}, (E{sub n}{ge}1MeV). The results indicated that the higher the irradiation dose the better the nodular corrosion resistance of both Zircaloy-2 and Zircaloy-4. It is concluded that irradiation-induced precipitate dissolution and irradiation-enhanced diffusion may increase the solute concentration in the matrix and make it distributed more evenly which in turn increases the nodular corrosion resistance of Zircaloys. An irradiation-induced solute redistribution and precipitate coarsening mechanism was proposed in this study. This mechanism is incorporated with the solute concentration mechanisms for nodular corrosion proposed by other researchers to explain the observed results properly.
- OSTI ID:
- 48049
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-910808--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Effects of thermomechanical processing on in-reactor corrosion and post-irradiation mechanical properties of Zircaloy-2
Precipitate Evolution in Low-Nickel Austenitic Stainless Steels During Neutron Irradiation at Very Low Dose Rates