Hydride reorientation in Zircaloy-4 cladding

The formation of radial hydrides in stress-relief annealed Zircaloy-4 cladding was studied. Specimens were firstly hydrided to different target hydrogen levels from 100 to 600 wt ppm and then thermally cycled in an autoclave under a constant hoop stress to form radial hydrides by a hydride reorientation process. The effect of thermal cycling on the hydride reorientation was more significant than that of isothermal treatment. Based on the experimental data, a thermodynamic model was proposed to elucidate the stress reorientation behavior of hydrides in Zircaloy cladding. According to the model, the bounds of stress and temperature to stress reorientation of hydride precipitates were developed. The threshold stress for hydrides to reorientation was a function of solution temperature and specimen hydrogen concentration.