Corrosion characteristics and mechanical properties of advanced Zr fuel claddings at various manufacturing steps

Corrosion characteristics of Zr fuel cladding was reported to be affected by manufacturing process and heat treatment condition. Especially, the corrosion properties of Nb-containing Zr alloy was highly dependant on the alloy composition and annealing temperature. The research for development of advanced Zr fuel cladding for high burn up has been carried out by our research group, that controlled the Nb content in alloy and optimized the manufacturing process to maintain the excellent corrosion resistance even in the high burn up condition. In this study, the effect of manufacturing parameter on the corrosion resistance of Zr fuel cladding was investigated. Microstructure characterization and evaluation of mechanical properties and corrosion characteristics were performed at various manufacturing steps. The characteristics of precipitates in the alloy was examined using TEM. The effect of crystallographic texture on the corrosion resistance or Zr alloy was also examined