A review on the clad failure studies

In this paper, an attempt has been made to systematically organize the research investigations conducted on clad tube failure, so far. Before presenting the review on the clad failure studies, an introduction to different clad materials has been added, in which the effect of alloying elements on the material properties have been presented. The literature on clad failure has been broadly categorized under the headings LOCA and RIA. The failure mechanisms like creep, corrosion and pellet–clad interaction have been discussed in details. Each subsection of the review has been provided with summary table, in which the studies are arranged in the chronological order. A small section on acceptance criteria for ECCS has also been included. The last section of the review has been dedicated to the core-degradation phenomena.

► We present a comprehensive review of clad failure studies during LOCA and RIA.
► Present review is solely on transient behavior of zircaloy clad leading to accident.
► In addition, a section clad materials and their development has also been included.
► Clad failure mechanisms during accident conditions: corrosion, creep, DNB and PCMI.
► The rate of corrosion and creep vary with the phase change due to overheating.