Nuclear safety: investigation of fuel cladding tubes
This study aims at providing experimental data to better assess the oxygen distribution in the αZr/prior-β phases of Zircaloy. EPMA X-rays maps were obtained on hydrogen and oxygen rich Zircaloy-4 revealing segregation of iron and chromium in the prior-β phase whereas oxygen diffuses in the αZr phase after homogenization at 1200°C. Electron Probe Microanalysis also allows measuring the oxygen concentration across the sample.
Recorded on CAMECA SX 100 at IRSN, Cadarache, France. Image courtesy of G. Villevielle and S. Guilbert.
S. Guilbert-Banti et al. Influence of hydrogen the oxygen solubility in Zircaloy-4. Journal of Nuclear Materials, vol. 469, 228-236, (2016).