ISSN: 1546-962X
Published Online: 13 December 2007
Page Count: 11

Deformation Anisotropy of Annealed Zircaloy-2 as a Function of Fast Neutron Fluence

Wei, X.
AECL, Ontario

Theaker, J. R.
AECL, Ontario

Griffiths, M.
AECL, Ontario

(Received 10 March 2007; accepted 1 November 2007)

Abstract

For unirradiated Zircaloys, plastic deformation occurs mostly by ⟨a⟩-type dislocation glide on prismatic planes. The critical resolved shear stress of the prismatic slip system is lower than that of the other deformation systems (⟨a⟩ slip on basal planes, and ⟨a⟩ or ⟨c+a⟩ slip on pyramidal planes, and twinning). This means that the yield strength (and ultimate tensile strength) for directions with a strong basal pole texture is higher than directions with a strong prism pole texture. Irradiation increases the yield stress on all slip planes due to the formation of dislocation loops that act as barriers to slip. Experimental evidence from Zircaloy-2 samples irradiated at 70°C suggests that the increase in critical resolved yield stress due to irradiation is lower for basal compared with prism planes.

Keywords:
zirconium, irradiation, radiation damage, dislocations, anisotropy, tensile tests, yielding, channeling

Paper ID: JAI101135
DOI: 10.1520/JAI101135
ASTM International is a member of CrossRef.