SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 01 January 1987
STP28110S

Effect of Irradiation at 588 K on Mechanical Properties and Deformation Behavior of Zirconium Alloy Strip

Source

Irradiation tests conducted for the Advanced Fuel Assembly (AFA) grid development allowed the measurement of the mechanical characteristics, growth, and relaxation of the following materials: stress-relieved, α-annealed, and β-quenched Zircaloy-4, and α-annealed Zr-3Sn-1Mo. The mechanical characteristics of the zirconium alloys approached a limit value as early as 5 × 1024 n m−2, except for the β-quenched Zircaloy-4 for which the limit value was reached later at about 5 × 1025 n m−2. Uniform elongation at 588 K showed a minimum at about 5 × 1024 n m−2; beyond this fluence, stress-relieved Zircaloy-4 presented the most marked tendency to increase. Longitudinal direction growth of annealed Zircaloy-4 and longitudinal and transverse direction growth of stress-relieved Zircaloy-4 may be expressed by the formula ε = At)n where n = 0.67 (stress-relieved Zircaloy-4) and n = 0.4 (annealed Zircaloy-4). It is doubtful that the growth is associated with a density change. The stress-relaxation of the zirconium base materials is nearly complete for 4 × 1025 n m−2, with the exception of Zr-1Nb which has an intermediate behavior between those of Zircaloy-4 and Inconel 718.

Tests on elementary grid cells, beyond 2 × 1025 n m−2, showed that the load exerted by the springs of Zircaloy-4 prototype cells is completely relaxed; for the AFA cells the residual load after irradiation at about 5 × 1025 n m−2 is comparable to that observed for an Inconel 718 manufactured cell.

Author Information

Morize, P
CEA Saclay, IRDI, D. Tech. SRMA, GIF sur Yvette Cedex, France
Baicry, J
CEA Saclay, IRDI, D. Tech. SRMA, GIF sur Yvette Cedex, France
Mardon, JP
FRAGEMA, Lyon Cedex 3, France
Price: $25.00
Contact Sales
Related
Reprints and Permissions
Reprints and copyright permissions can be requested through the
Copyright Clearance Center
Details
Developed by Committee: B10
Pages: 101–119
DOI: 10.1520/STP28110S
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-5004-1
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-0935-3