Study of hydride reorientation and ductility of SRA ZIRLO and PRXA ZIRLO using ring compression testing (RCT)

Soyoung Kang; Maxim Gussev; Michael Billone; Arthur Motta

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2025.156225

Study of hydride reorientation and ductility of SRA ZIRLO and PRXA ZIRLO using ring compression testing (RCT)

Soyoung Kang
, Maxim Gussev
, Michael Billone
, Arthur Motta

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

Abstract

Before dry storage, spent nuclear fuel is dried at high temperatures, which induces hydride dissolution. Radial hydride particles precipitate when cooled under a stress above a threshold stress. This process can severely degrade the ductility of cladding tubes. Zirconium alloys with different microstructures, such as grain boundary density, were quantified and studied to examine their effect on hydride reorientation. The ring compression loading mode creates a range of stress states depending on the location within the ring with respect to the applied load, producing various hydride morphologies that can be used to study the effects of microstructures on hydride reorientation. Finite element modeling was performed to calculate the hoop stress, which is the dominant stress, during hydride reorientation. These results were coupled with hydride morphology to determine the threshold stress for hydride reorientation, depending on the microstructure. The samples were then mechanically tested using ring compression to evaluate the ductility of zirconium alloys as a function of different hydride morphologies.

Original language	English
Article number	156225
Journal	Journal of Nuclear Materials
Volume	618
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2025.156225
State	Published - Jan 2026

Funding

This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( https://www.energy.gov/doe-public-access-plan ). This work was performed with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Energy University Program Integrated Research Project (IRP)-17–13708 “Development of a Mechanistic Hydride Behavior Model for Spent Fuel Cladding Storage and Transportation.” We acknowledge helpful discussions with the other members of the IRP. We acknowledge Andrew Muller at Westinghouse for furnishing the materials and for performing the texture analysis. This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (https://www.energy.gov/doe-public-access-plan). This work was performed with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Energy University Program Integrated Research Projec t (IRP)-17–13708 “Development of a Mechanistic Hydride Behavior Model for Spent Fuel Cladding Storage and Transportation.” We acknowledge helpful discussions with the other members of the IRP. We acknowledge Andrew Muller at Westinghouse for furnishing the materials and for performing the texture analysis.

Keywords

Hydride embrittlement
Hydride reorientation
Nuclear fuel cladding
Ring compression tests
ZIRLO

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10.1016/j.jnucmat.2025.156225

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title = "Study of hydride reorientation and ductility of SRA ZIRLO and PRXA ZIRLO using ring compression testing (RCT)",

abstract = "Before dry storage, spent nuclear fuel is dried at high temperatures, which induces hydride dissolution. Radial hydride particles precipitate when cooled under a stress above a threshold stress. This process can severely degrade the ductility of cladding tubes. Zirconium alloys with different microstructures, such as grain boundary density, were quantified and studied to examine their effect on hydride reorientation. The ring compression loading mode creates a range of stress states depending on the location within the ring with respect to the applied load, producing various hydride morphologies that can be used to study the effects of microstructures on hydride reorientation. Finite element modeling was performed to calculate the hoop stress, which is the dominant stress, during hydride reorientation. These results were coupled with hydride morphology to determine the threshold stress for hydride reorientation, depending on the microstructure. The samples were then mechanically tested using ring compression to evaluate the ductility of zirconium alloys as a function of different hydride morphologies.",

keywords = "Hydride embrittlement, Hydride reorientation, Nuclear fuel cladding, Ring compression tests, ZIRLO",

author = "Soyoung Kang and Maxim Gussev and Michael Billone and Arthur Motta",

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year = "2026",

month = jan,

doi = "10.1016/j.jnucmat.2025.156225",

language = "English",

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AU - Kang, Soyoung

AU - Gussev, Maxim

AU - Billone, Michael

AU - Motta, Arthur

PY - 2026/1

Y1 - 2026/1

N2 - Before dry storage, spent nuclear fuel is dried at high temperatures, which induces hydride dissolution. Radial hydride particles precipitate when cooled under a stress above a threshold stress. This process can severely degrade the ductility of cladding tubes. Zirconium alloys with different microstructures, such as grain boundary density, were quantified and studied to examine their effect on hydride reorientation. The ring compression loading mode creates a range of stress states depending on the location within the ring with respect to the applied load, producing various hydride morphologies that can be used to study the effects of microstructures on hydride reorientation. Finite element modeling was performed to calculate the hoop stress, which is the dominant stress, during hydride reorientation. These results were coupled with hydride morphology to determine the threshold stress for hydride reorientation, depending on the microstructure. The samples were then mechanically tested using ring compression to evaluate the ductility of zirconium alloys as a function of different hydride morphologies.

AB - Before dry storage, spent nuclear fuel is dried at high temperatures, which induces hydride dissolution. Radial hydride particles precipitate when cooled under a stress above a threshold stress. This process can severely degrade the ductility of cladding tubes. Zirconium alloys with different microstructures, such as grain boundary density, were quantified and studied to examine their effect on hydride reorientation. The ring compression loading mode creates a range of stress states depending on the location within the ring with respect to the applied load, producing various hydride morphologies that can be used to study the effects of microstructures on hydride reorientation. Finite element modeling was performed to calculate the hoop stress, which is the dominant stress, during hydride reorientation. These results were coupled with hydride morphology to determine the threshold stress for hydride reorientation, depending on the microstructure. The samples were then mechanically tested using ring compression to evaluate the ductility of zirconium alloys as a function of different hydride morphologies.

KW - Hydride embrittlement

KW - Hydride reorientation

KW - Nuclear fuel cladding

KW - Ring compression tests

KW - ZIRLO

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105020861549

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DO - 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2025.156225

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VL - 618

JO - Journal of Nuclear Materials

JF - Journal of Nuclear Materials

M1 - 156225

ER -

Study of hydride reorientation and ductility of SRA ZIRLO and PRXA ZIRLO using ring compression testing (RCT)

Abstract

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Keywords

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