About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Developments in Advanced Nuclear Structural Materials
|
| Presentation Title |
K-5: Effect of Cr Coating Thickness on the Oxidation Kinetics in Coated Zircaloy-4 |
| Author(s) |
Brock Nowak, Kevin Daub, Suraj Persaud, Zhongwen Yao |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Brock Nowak |
| Abstract Scope |
This study investigates the performance of Cr coated claddings subjected to high-temperature steam oxidation tests. Coatings were deposited on Zircaloy-4 cladding sections using magnetron sputtering, varying deposition time to control coating thickness. Oxidation kinetics were tested in two systems: a horizontal tube furnace (1130 °C) varying exposure duration from 180 to 14400 s or using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) at 1130 °C, 1165 °C, and 1230 °C. Oxidation kinetics were observed to change with coating thickness and exposure time. Coatings >15 µm thick exhibit a sharp parabolic-linear transition after 1 h of steam exposure (kp = 0.15 mg2 cm-4 min-1), 10 µm thick coatings and uncoated Zircaloy-4 follow parabolic kinetics (kp = 0.22 and 0.27 mg2 cm-4 min-1, respectively), and 5 µm coatings follow linear kinetics after a brief period (kp = 0.37 mg2 cm-4 min-1). Higher oxidation rates are attributed to shorter permeation distances for oxygen to diffuse into the Zr matrix compared to the naturally formed oxide. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Nuclear Materials, Surface Modification and Coatings, High-Temperature Materials |