Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5454183 | Journal of Nuclear Materials | 2017 | 10 Pages |
Abstract
For the first time the microstructure of the oxide layer of a Zircaloy-2 cladding after 9 cycles of irradiation in a boiling water reactor has been analyzed with synchrotron micro-X-ray diffraction. Crystallographic strains of the monoclinic and to some extent of the tetragonal ZrO2 are depicted through the thick oxide layer. Thin layers of sub-oxide at the oxide-metal interface as found for autoclave-tested samples and described in the literature, have not been observed in this material maybe resulting from irradiation damage. Shifts of selected diffraction peaks of the monoclinic oxide show that the uniform strain produced during oxidation is orientated in the lattice and displays variations along the oxide layer. Diffraction peaks and their shifts from families of diffracting planes could be translated into a virtual tensor. This virtual tensor exhibits changes through the oxide layer passing by tensile or compressive components.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Energy
Nuclear Energy and Engineering
Authors
Mélanie Chollet, Stéphane Valance, Sousan Abolhassani, Gene Stein, Daniel Grolimund, Matthias Martin, Johannes Bertsch,