Characterization of PVD Cr, CrN, and TiN coatings on SiC

P. A. Mouche; C. Ang; T. Koyanagi; P. Doyle; Y. Katoh

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.151781

Characterization of PVD Cr, CrN, and TiN coatings on SiC

P. A. Mouche, C. Ang, T. Koyanagi, P. Doyle, Y. Katoh

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

SiC ceramic matrix composites are a potential replacement for current light water nuclear reactor fuel cladding material. However, loss of fission gas via micro-cracks and corrosion remain an issue. Cathodic arc Cr, CrN, and TiN coatings were deposited on SiC tubes and plates to provide hermeticity and corrosion resistance. These coatings were characterized to determine as-deposited quality. Cross-sectional microscopy, X-ray diffraction, glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy, and scratch tests were performed to evaluate the purity, structure, and mechanical performance of the coatings. Nitride coatings had stable interfaces, but larger defects in the coatings as compared to the Cr coatings which showed cracking at the interface, but less deposition-induced defects. Despite the local state of the interface, the mechanical properties of the metallic coatings versus ceramic coatings enabled the Cr coatings to resist loads three times that of the nitride coatings during scratch tests. Glow-discharge optical emission spectroscopy showed that improvement in elemental purity is needed for future coatings.

Original language	English
Article number	151781
Journal	Journal of Nuclear Materials
Volume	527
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.151781
State	Published - Dec 15 2019

Funding

This work was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy , Advanced Fuel Campaign of Nuclear Technology Research & Development program under contact DE-AC05-00OR22725 with Oak Ridge National Laboratories managed by UT Battelle, LLC. The authors would like to thank Braden Altstatt and Andrea Novitsky (Nanovea Inc, CA) for conducting the scratch indentation testing. Coatings were prototype experimental and commercial products from Techmetals Inc., OH (TM-TiN, TM-CrN) and Richter-Precision, Inc. PA (RP-Cr, RP-CrN/Cr2N/Cr). The authors wish to thank Stephen Raiman and Yoonjo Lee for their comments on this manuscript. This work was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, Advanced Fuel Campaign of Nuclear Technology Research & Development program under contact DE-AC05-00OR22725 with Oak Ridge National Laboratories managed by UT Battelle, LLC. The authors would like to thank Braden Altstatt and Andrea Novitsky (Nanovea Inc, CA) for conducting the scratch indentation testing. Coatings were prototype experimental and commercial products from Techmetals Inc. OH (TM-TiN, TM-CrN) and Richter-Precision, Inc. PA (RP-Cr, RP-CrN/Cr2N/Cr). The authors wish to thank Stephen Raiman and Yoonjo Lee for their comments on this manuscript.

Keywords

Cathodic arc
Ceramic nuclear fuel cladding
Coating
Cr
CrN
SiC
TiN

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title = "Characterization of PVD Cr, CrN, and TiN coatings on SiC",

abstract = "SiC ceramic matrix composites are a potential replacement for current light water nuclear reactor fuel cladding material. However, loss of fission gas via micro-cracks and corrosion remain an issue. Cathodic arc Cr, CrN, and TiN coatings were deposited on SiC tubes and plates to provide hermeticity and corrosion resistance. These coatings were characterized to determine as-deposited quality. Cross-sectional microscopy, X-ray diffraction, glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy, and scratch tests were performed to evaluate the purity, structure, and mechanical performance of the coatings. Nitride coatings had stable interfaces, but larger defects in the coatings as compared to the Cr coatings which showed cracking at the interface, but less deposition-induced defects. Despite the local state of the interface, the mechanical properties of the metallic coatings versus ceramic coatings enabled the Cr coatings to resist loads three times that of the nitride coatings during scratch tests. Glow-discharge optical emission spectroscopy showed that improvement in elemental purity is needed for future coatings.",

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AU - Ang, C.

AU - Koyanagi, T.

AU - Doyle, P.

AU - Katoh, Y.

PY - 2019/12/15

Y1 - 2019/12/15

N2 - SiC ceramic matrix composites are a potential replacement for current light water nuclear reactor fuel cladding material. However, loss of fission gas via micro-cracks and corrosion remain an issue. Cathodic arc Cr, CrN, and TiN coatings were deposited on SiC tubes and plates to provide hermeticity and corrosion resistance. These coatings were characterized to determine as-deposited quality. Cross-sectional microscopy, X-ray diffraction, glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy, and scratch tests were performed to evaluate the purity, structure, and mechanical performance of the coatings. Nitride coatings had stable interfaces, but larger defects in the coatings as compared to the Cr coatings which showed cracking at the interface, but less deposition-induced defects. Despite the local state of the interface, the mechanical properties of the metallic coatings versus ceramic coatings enabled the Cr coatings to resist loads three times that of the nitride coatings during scratch tests. Glow-discharge optical emission spectroscopy showed that improvement in elemental purity is needed for future coatings.

AB - SiC ceramic matrix composites are a potential replacement for current light water nuclear reactor fuel cladding material. However, loss of fission gas via micro-cracks and corrosion remain an issue. Cathodic arc Cr, CrN, and TiN coatings were deposited on SiC tubes and plates to provide hermeticity and corrosion resistance. These coatings were characterized to determine as-deposited quality. Cross-sectional microscopy, X-ray diffraction, glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy, and scratch tests were performed to evaluate the purity, structure, and mechanical performance of the coatings. Nitride coatings had stable interfaces, but larger defects in the coatings as compared to the Cr coatings which showed cracking at the interface, but less deposition-induced defects. Despite the local state of the interface, the mechanical properties of the metallic coatings versus ceramic coatings enabled the Cr coatings to resist loads three times that of the nitride coatings during scratch tests. Glow-discharge optical emission spectroscopy showed that improvement in elemental purity is needed for future coatings.

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Characterization of PVD Cr, CrN, and TiN coatings on SiC

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