Related papers: Fabrication of bulk delta-phase Zirconium Hydride …
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 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…
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…
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…
High-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction was utilized to study the mechanical response of the f.c.c $\delta$-hydride phase, the intermetallic precipitation with hexagonal C14 lave phase and the $\alpha$-Zr phase in the Zircaloy-4 materials…
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…
Zircaloy-4 is used extensively as nuclear fuel cladding materials and hydride embrittlement is a major failure mechanism. To explore the effect of {\delta}-hydride on plastic deformation and performance of Zircaloy-4, in situ high angular…
The interaction of hydrogen and metals continues to be industrially relevant and is a critical part of creating and supporting a safety case for nuclear reactor operation. In the present work, we explore hydrogen storage and hydride…
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…
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…
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…
The effect of pressure on the room temperature solubility of hydrogen in Zircaloy-4 was examined using synchrotron X-ray diffraction on small ground flake samples in a diamond anvil cell at pressures up to 20.9 GPa. Different combinations…
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…
Zirconium alloys are widely used in nuclear reactors as fuel cladding materials. Fuel cladding is used to contain the nuclear fuel and cladding tubes are typically sealed using welds. Welding of zirconium alloys can result in changes in the…
We present a kinetic model for solid state phase transformation (alpha<-->beta) of common zirconium alloys used as fuel cladding material in light water reactors. The model computes the relative amounts of beta or alpha phase fraction as a…
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…
A recently developed full field level-set model of continuous dynamic recrystallization is applied to simulate zircaloy-4 recrystallization during hot compression and subsequent heat treatment. The influence of strain rate, final strain and…
The effects of applied load on the formation and reorientation of delta hydrides in alpha-zirconium matrix are studied by a multiphase field model. Simulations with only one hydride seed indicate that the hydride reorientation occurs only…
The enthalpies of solution of H in Zr binary intermetallic compounds formed with Cu, Cr, Fe, Mo, Ni, Nb, Sn and V were calculated by means of density functional theory simulations and compared to that of H in {\alpha}-Zr. It is predicted…