An Orthogonal Experimental Study on the Preparation of Cr Coatings on Long-Size Zr Alloy Tubes by Arc Ion Plating.

Cr-coated Zr alloys are widely considered the most promising accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) cladding materials for engineering applications in the near term. In this work, Cr coatings were prepared on the surfaces of 1400 mm long N36 cladding tubes using an industrial multiple arc source system. Orthogonal analyses were conducted to demonstrate the significance level of various process parameters influencing the characteristics of coatings (surface roughness, defects, crystal orientation, grain structure, etc.

Investigation on Microstructures and High-Temperature Oxidation Resistance of Cr Coatings on Zircaloy-4 by Multi-Arc Ion Plating Technology.

Introducing the oxidation-resistant coating on Zr alloy is considered to be one of the potential solutions for accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) materials. In this study, pure Cr coatings were prepared on a Zircaloy-4 (Zry-4) alloy surface by multi-arc ion plating under different process parameters. The ability of Cr coating on Zry-4 alloy cladding to improve the oxidation resistance to prevent a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) was studied.

Control of Laves Precipitation in a FeCrAl-based Alloy Through Severe Thermomechanical Processing.

In recent years, the development of nuclear grade FeCrAl-based alloys with enhanced accident tolerance has been carried out for light water reactor (LWR) fuel cladding to serve as a substitute for zirconium-based alloys. To achieve excellent microstructure stability and mechanical properties, the control of precipitation particles is critical for application of FeCrAl-based alloys. In this paper, the effect of thermomechanical processing on the microstructure and precipitation behavior of hot-rolled FeCrAl alloy plates was examined.