Related papers: Nanoscale characterisation of hydrides and seconda…
The long-term safety of water-based nuclear reactors relies in part on the reliability of zirconium-based nuclear fuel. Yet the progressive ingress of hydrogen during service makes zirconium alloys subject to delayed hydride cracking. Here,…
Hydrogen as a fuel can be stored safely with high volumetric density in metals. It can, however, also be detrimental to metals causing embrittlement. Understanding fundamental behavior of hydrogen at atomic scale is key to improve the…
Zircaloy-4 is used as a fuel cladding material for water reactors, as it has good mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, and a low thermal neutron absorption cross section. However, the mechanical performance of Zircaloy-4 can be…
Zirconium alloys are widely used in the nuclear industry because of their high strength, good corrosion resistance and low neutron absorption cross-section. However, zirconium has strong affinity for hydrogen which leads to hydrogen…
The interactions between {\delta}-hydrides and plastic slip in a commercial zirconium alloy, Zircaloy-4, under stress were studied using in situ secondary electron microscope (SEM) micropillar compression tests of single crystal samples and…
Zirconium alloys are used as nuclear fuel cladding material due to their mechanical and corrosion resistant properties together with their favorable cross-section for neutron scattering. At running conditions, however, there will be an…
When hydrogen atoms occupy interstitial sites in metal lattices, they form metal hydrides (MHx), whose structural and electronic properties can differ significantly from the host metals. Owing to the small size of hydrogen atom and its…
Migration of hydrogen and hydride formation under thermal gradient leads to hydrogen redistribution in certain metals. These metals include zirconium, titanium, hafnium and their alloys with tendency to form hydrides. A computational method…
Hafnium hydride is a promising material for next-generation nuclear reactors, particularly as control rods for fast fission and shielding in fusion systems. The material's intrinsic brittleness encourages its use in the form of…
Microstructure and crystallography of {\delta} phase hydrides in as-received fine grain and 'blocky' alpha large grain Zircaloy-4 (average grain size ~11 {\mu}m and >200 {\mu}m, respectively) were examined using electron backscatter…
Hydrogen embrittlement in Zr alloy fuel cladding is a primary safety concern for water based nuclear reactors. Here we investigated the stabilisation of planar defects within the forming hydrides by Sn, the primary alloying element of…
The formation of precipitated zirconium (Zr) hydrides is closely related to the hydrogen embrittlement problem for the cladding materials of pressured water reactors (PWR). In this work, we systematically investigated the crystal structures…
One of the main degradation mechanisms of the zirconium alloys used in nuclear reactors is hydrogen embrittlement and hydride formation. The formation of zirconium hydrides is accompanied by a transformation strain, the effects of which on…
Nanoscaling interstitial metal hydrides offers opportunities for hydrogenation applications by enhancing kinetics, increasing surface area, and allowing for tunable properties. The introduction of interfaces impacts hydrogen absorption…
We explore the distribution, morphology and structure of zirconium hydrides formed using different cooling rates through the solid state Zr+[H] --> Zr + hydride transus, in fine and blocky alpha Zircaloy-4. We observe that cooling rate and…
Metal-oxide interfaces with poor coherency have unique properties comparing to the bulk materials and offer broad applications in the fields of heterogeneous catalysis, battery, and electronics. However, current understanding of the…
In this work, TiFe-based alloys have been developed according to the stoichiometry Ti1-xAxFe1-yBy (A \equiv Zr; B \equiv Mn, V). The hydrogen solubility properties have been investigated to develop dynamic hydrides of Ti-based alloys for…
Zircaloy-4 (Zr-1.5%Sn-0.2%Fe-0.1%Cr wt. %) was electrochemically charged with deuterium to create deuterides and subsequently analysed with atom probe tomography and scanning transmission electron microscopy to understand zirconium hydride…
Metal hydrides (MH) are often preferred to absorb and desorb hydrogen at ambient temperature and pressure with a high volumetric density. These hydrogen storage alloys create promising prospects for hydrogen storage and can solve the…
Hydrogen is key in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in materials production. At the same time, it significantly affects mechanical properties, often causing unwanted embrittlement. However, rather than solely addressing these…