Thermal creep in a pre-hydrided Zr1 % Nb nuclear fuel cladding tube

0585475 - ÚFM 2025 RIV NL eng J - Journal Article
Sklenička, Václav - Kuchařová, Květa - Král, Petr - Dvořák, Jiří - Kvapilová, Marie - Vrtílková, V. - Krejčí, J.
Thermal creep in a pre-hydrided Zr1 % Nb nuclear fuel cladding tube.
Journal of Nuclear Materials. ROČ. 596, AUG (2024), č. článku 155084. ISSN 0022-3115. E-ISSN 1873-4820
Institutional support: RVO:68081723
Keywords : Zirconium alloy * Cladding tube * Creep
OECD category: Materials engineering
Impact factor: 3.1, year: 2022

The effect of hydrogen on the thermal creep behaviour of Zr1 %Nb alloy fuel cladding tubes for use in light water-cooled nuclear reactors was investigated. The tubes were hydrogen charged using an alternative method with a hydrogen content in the range 371–656 wppm H. Comparative constant-stress creep tests were carried out at 350 °C, under stress ranging from 150 to 225 MPa, on both non-hydrided and hydrided tubes. These creep tests were followed by a microstructural analysis of the specimens exposed to creep using SEM and TEM. It was found that these creep tests were conducted in the transition zone between the power-law and power-law breakdown creep regions. Hydrogen, either in solid solution (atomic hydrogen) or as precipitated zirconium hydrides, altered the creep behaviour of the hydrided tubes, and the impact of hydrogen depended on the hydrogen content CH. It was observed that under the creep loading conditions considered here with a hydrogen content CH < 450 wppm H, the presence of hydrogen resulted in an increase in the creep rate; however, a higher concentration of hydrogen caused a decrease in the creep rate. The difference in the effects of hydrogen on the creep rate was explained by the different roles of hydrogen in solid solution and in the form of zirconium hydride precipitates.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0353169