Fiber texture-dependent oxidation behaviour of Cr-coated zirconium alloy in high temperature steam. (15th August 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wang, Yao; Wang, Luhua; Shang, Lunlin; Bai, Guanghai; Li, Jinshan; Xue, Fei; Gong, Weijia
• Is Part Of: Corrosion science. Volume 205(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-08-15
• Subjects: ATF cladding -- Cr-coating -- High temperature oxidation -- Fiber texture -- Nano-porosity -- SEM; Corrosion and anti-corrosives -- Periodicals; 620.11223
• DOI: 10.1016/j.corsci.2022.110449
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0010-938X

Abstract

Abstract: Cr-coatings with distinct crystallographic fiber textures were deposited on zirconium nuclear fuel cladding material. The <100> textured Cr-coating demonstrated superior properties to the <110> and <111> textured ones after high temperature steam oxidation. Electron microscopy characterization revealed that improvement in oxidation resistance could be attributed to rapid growth of <100> Cr-coating grains which leads to reduced grain boundaries for oxygen diffusion and zirconia particle nucleation as well as the absence of transgranular nano-porosity arrays in the residual Cr-coating. This work demonstrates a novel mechanism of orientation-dependent Cr-coating corrosion, which is expected to guide optimized design of Cr-coated nuclear fuel cladding. Highlights: Cr-coatings with distinct fiber textures were deposited on Zr alloy. Superior oxidation resistance is demonstrated in the <100> Cr-coating. Nano-porosity is identified by ECCI and TEM Fresnel contrast imaging. Rapid growth of <100> Cr-grains accounts for superior oxidation resistance.