Effect of Cr on the creep properties of zirconium alloys

To investigate the effect of the Cr element in zirconium-based alloys on the creep properties, Zr–1.2Nb–0.1Cr, Zr–1.2Nb–0.5Cr, Zr–1.2Nb–0.3Sn–0.1Cr, and Zr–1.2Nb–0.2Sn–0.3Cr alloys were manufactured and creep tested under a constant stress of 120 MPa at 380 °C for 250 days. As the amount of Cr as well as Sn increased in the studied alloys, the creep strain rates decreased. The strengthening effect of Cr is considered to be efficient when the zirconium alloy contains Nb as an alloying element. The relative contribution of Cr against Sn contents on creep resistance was also observed to be comparable.