Influence Of Chemical Composition On Uniform Corrosion Of Zirconium Base Alloys In Autoclave Tests PDF Download

The influence of the composition of Zircaloy-type alloys has been evaluated previously with respect to mechanical properties (1973 International Conference Zirconium in the Nuclear Industry, ASTM STP 551) and to nodular corrosion (1985 International ASTM Conference on Zirconium in the Nuclear Industry, ASTM STP 939). The present study extends this previous work to include uniform corrosion, which is of interest for cladding tubes and spacer grids of fuel assemblies. A variety of ingots with compositions both within and outside of the ASTM specification range for Zircaloy-2 and Zircaloy-4 have been tested. The material was fabricated into strips using a conventional fabrication procedure, which incorporated an intermediate beta quench followed by working and annealing in the upper alpha-range. The alloy elements covered the following ranges: tin: 0.2 to 1.7%; iron: 0.05 to 0.53%; chromium: 0.04 to 1.05%; and nickel: 0.003 to 0.046%. In addition, oxygen, carbon, silicon, and phosphorus were varied over the range of standard Zircaloy contents.