Post-quench ductility evaluation of Zircaloy-4 and select iron alloys under design basis and extended LOCA conditions

Y. Yan, J. R. Keiser, K. A. Terrani, G. L. Bell, L. L. Snead

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

Oxidation experiments were conducted at 1200 °C in flowing steam with tubing specimens of Zircaloy-4, 317, 347 stainless steels, and the commercial FeCrAl alloy APMT. The purpose was to determine the oxidation behavior and post-quench ductility under postulated and extended LOCA conditions. The parabolic rate constant for Zircaloy-4 tubing samples at 1200 °C was determined to be k = 2.173 × 107 g2/cm 4/s, in excellent agreement with the Cathcart-Pawel correlation. The APMT alloy experienced the slowest oxidation rate among all materials examined in this work. The ductility of post-quenched samples was evaluated by ring compression tests at 135 °C. For Zircaloy-4, the ductile to brittle transition occurs at an equivalent cladding reacted (ECR) of 19.3%. SS-347 was still ductile after being oxidized for 2400 s (CP-ECR b≈50%), but the maximum load was reduced significantly owing to the metal layer thickness reduction. No ductility decrease was observed for the post-quenched APMT samples oxidized up to 4 h.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)436-440
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Nuclear Materials
Volume448
Issue number1-3
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2014

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