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Zircaloy-4 cladding deformation during power reactor irradiation

Conference · · Am. Soc. Test. Mater., Spec. Tech. Publ.; (United States)
OSTI ID:6461018
Axial elongation, circumferential creep, ovalization and ridging in Zircaloy fuel cladding were investigated for fuel irradiated in four modern PWR's. For fueled rods, only fluence and stress were found to influence elongation, while for nonfueled rods the texture was also important. Time and flux had weaker than linear influence on circumferential creep strain in nonfueled rods, while the influence of the stress was stronger than linear. The strain rate was almost athermal. The creep strain clearly increased with preirradiation yield strength. The creep rate decreased with an increase in the angle between the basal poles and the radial direction. Ovalization of fueled and nonfueled rods was observed. Clad ridging developed in fueled rods, usually in a time period between one and two reactor cycles and almost always after three cycles. 29 refs.
Research Organization:
EPRI, Palo Alto, CA, USA
OSTI ID:
6461018
Report Number(s):
CONF-800834-
Conference Information:
Journal Name: Am. Soc. Test. Mater., Spec. Tech. Publ.; (United States)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English