Vacuum-arc chromium-based coatings for protection of zirconium alloys from the high-temperature oxidation in air

It is shown that the hard multilayer coating effectively protects zirconium from the oxidation in air for 1 h at test temperatures. As a result of the oxidation in the coating the CrO and Cr2O3 oxides are formed which reduce the oxygen penetration through the coating. At maximum test temperature of 1100 °C the oxide layer thickness in the coating is about 5 μm. The tube shape remains unchanged independent of alloy type. It has been found that uncoated zirconium oxidizes rapidly throughout the temperature range under study. At 1100 °C a porous monoclinic ZrO2 oxide layer of ≥120 μm is formed that leads to the deformation of the samples, cracking and spalling of the oxide layer.