Medal minted in zirconium, with the metal produced from 1947 by the Albany Metallurgical Research Center for the manufacture of the nuclear reactor of the submarine Nautilus
Zirconium alloys are solid solutions of zirconium or other metals, a common subgroup having the trade mark Zircaloy. Zirconium has very low absorption cross-section of thermal neutrons, high hardness, ductility and corrosion resistance. One of the main uses of zirconium alloys is in nuclear technology, as cladding of fuel rods in nuclear reactors, especially water reactors. A typical composition of nuclear-grade zirconium alloys is more than 95 weight percent[1] zirconium and less than 2% of tin, niobium, iron, chromium, nickel and other metals, which are added to improve mechanical properties and corrosion resistance.[2]
The water cooling of reactor zirconium alloys elevates requirement for their resistance to oxidation-related nodular corrosion. Furthermore, oxidative reaction of zirconium with water releases hydrogen gas, which partly diffuses into the alloy and forms zirconium hydrides.[3] The hydrides are less dense and are weaker mechanically than the alloy; their formation results in blistering and cracking of the cladding – a phenomenon known as hydrogen embrittlement.[4][5]
^Alloys' constituents are usually measured by mass.
^Mary Eagleson (1994). Concise encyclopedia chemistry. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 1199–. ISBN 978-3-11-011451-5. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
^Carpenter, G.J.C.; Watters, J.F. (1978). "An in-situ study of the dissolution of γ-zirconium hydride in zirconium". Journal of Nuclear Materials. 73 (2): 190–197. Bibcode:1978JNuM...73..190C. doi:10.1016/0022-3115(78)90559-7.
^Delayed hydride cracking in zirconium alloys in pressure tube nuclear reactors, Final report of a coordinated research project 1998–2002, IAEA, October 2004
^Nuclear Fuel Fabrication Archived July 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Fuel Fabrication Archived July 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine World Nuclear Association, March 2010
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