An assessment of the long-term storage of Zircaloy fuel rods in water. Final report

Technical Report · Sun Oct 15 04:00:00 EDT 1978

OSTI ID:5593971

Munir, Z A

The corrosion mechanisms which might affect Zircaloy-clad nuclear fuel rods during long periods of underwater storage prior to reprocessing are discussed in this report. A literature search was made to evaluate the current knowledge about possible long term degradation of Zircaloy-2 and Zircaloy-4. No potential degradation problems result from the general corrosion of Zircaloy stored in pool water for prolonged periods (10-20 years). Also, at pool temperatures of less than 50C, the diffusion of hydrogen in Zircaloy is too slow to contribute to degradation during the expected storage times. However, degradation during storage may result from the earlier thermal, chemical, or radiological histories of the cladding material. Further tests are recommended to determine the effect on Zircaloy cladding considering: (a) the degree of residual stress in the rods; (b) fission product uptake and the degree of prior embrittlement; (c) galvanic coupling with other metals of the fuel rod storage assembly; and (d) the nature and concentration levels of contaminants accumulated in surface layers during its use in the reactor.

• Research Organization: California Univ., Davis (USA). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
• OSTI ID: 5593971
• Report Number(s): PB-291013
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220300* -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Fuel Elements
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360105 -- Metals & Alloys-- Corrosion & Erosion
ALLOYS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CORROSION
CRYOGENIC FLUIDS
ELEMENTS
EMBRITTLEMENT
FLUIDS
FUEL ELEMENTS
FUEL RODS
HYDROGEN
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
NONMETALS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
REACTOR COMPONENTS
SPENT FUEL STORAGE
STRESS CORROSION
TIN ALLOYS
WATER
ZIRCALOY
ZIRCONIUM ALLOYS
ZIRCONIUM BASE ALLOYS