Corrosion and Creep Characteristics of the HANA-4 Alloy with the various Manufacturing Processes

Zirconium alloys have been used as a fuel cladding material for several decades, since these alloys have revealed a good corrosion resistance and mechanical properties in reactor operating conditions. The development of an advanced Zr-based alloy with an improved corrosion and creep resistance is necessary for the high burn-up operating conditions in PWRs. The alloying element effects of the Nb, Sn, Fe, Cr, Cu etc as well as an optimization of the manufacturing processes such as the reduction ratio and annealing temperatures have been studied to improve the corrosion and creep properties. A high Nb-containing Zr-based alloy named HANA-4 was designed at KAERI and its nominal composition is Zr-1.5Nb-0.4Sn-0.2Fe-0.1Cr in wt.%. For high Nb-containing Zr alloys, their corrosion resistance is very sensitive to their microstructural characteristics which are determined by a manufacturing process. In order to obtain the best manufacturing process for the HANA-4 alloy, various evaluations such as corrosion and creep tests, a microstructural analysis, and a texture analysis were performed on the HANA-4 alloy with various manufacturing processes