About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Interrelated Extremes in Materials Degradation for Fission and Fusion Environments
|
| Presentation Title |
Transmission Electron Microscopy of Second Phase Precipitates in Zirconium Alloys Exposed to Neutron Irradiation in the Advanced Test Reactor |
| Author(s) |
Jonova Thomas, Robert Etien, Ken R Anderson, Gene Lucadamo, Philip D Edmondson |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Jonova Thomas |
| Abstract Scope |
Zirconium (Zr) alloys contain iron (Fe) in excess of the solubility limit, and this results in the formation of Fe-bearing second phase precipitates (SPPs). The primary Fe-bearing SPP is the AB2-type Laves phase. The Laves phase composition for Zircaloy-4 (Zr-4) and Zr-2.5Nb tends to be Zr(Fe,Cr)2 and Zr(Nb,Fe)2, respectively. During neutron irradiation, the Laves precipitates lose their crystalline structure, become amorphous, and reject Fe into the α-Zr matrix. This behavior may impact the corrosion and mechanical behavior of the material, and an understanding of SPP amorphization and Fe redistribution is desirable to understand its impact on in-pile performance of Zr alloys. In this study, the following aspects of SPPs in Zr-4 and Zr-2.5Nb are explored using TEM: (1) chemistry, microstructure, shape/size, and crystallinity pre/post neutron irradiation in the Advanced Test Reactor, (2) effect of fluence accumulation, and (3) effect of neutron irradiation on the α-Zr matrix immediately surrounding amorphous SPPs. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Nuclear Materials, Characterization, Other |