About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Interrelated Extremes in Materials Degradation for Fission and Fusion Environments
|
| Presentation Title |
Atomic-scale characterisation of the in-pile corrosion of ZIRLO and X2 Zr cladding alloys |
| Author(s) |
Wenyu Zhang, Zaheen Shah, Jonna M. Partezana , Michael P. Moody, Paul A.J. Bagot, Chris R.M. Grovenor |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Wenyu Zhang |
| Abstract Scope |
Cooling water corrodes cladding Zr alloys in the light water reactors, forming gradually porous oxides which provide degraded mechanical support and corrosion resistance. Proxy corrosion tests are often carried out in autoclaves to simulate the in-pile corrosion, due to the scarcity of the ex-reactor materials and difficulties in handling them. However, for in-pile corrosion, irradiation and corrosion occur simultaneously, where the corrosion process advances on an irradiated metal substrate that is full of irradiation-indued nanovoids, dislocation loops, solute clusters, etc. And these significantly increase the corrosion rate.
Here we report combinative results using atom probe tomography and transmission electron microscopy on X2 and ZIRLO Zr alloys in baseline, autoclaved and ex-reactor states (Vogtle Plant – Georgia, US). By comparing the micro- to atomic-scale structure and chemistry in three states, we present novel insights into how irradiation affects corrosion performance, and the development of more robust cladding materials. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Nuclear Materials, Characterization, Environmental Effects |