Microstructure and corrosion characteristics of Zr-Nb alloys in relation to manufacturing process

To investigate the influence of manufacturing process on the microstructure and corrosion characteristics of Zr-1Nb-0.2Cu and Zr-1Nb-1Sn-0.1Fe alloys, corrosion test at 400 .deg. C steam was conducted for specimens prepared by various processes. TEM studies were also carried out to investigate the microstructure of the samples. Corrosion behavior of Zr-1Nb-0.2Cu and Zr-1Nb-1Sn-0.1Fe alloys was significantly influenced by heat treatment. Namely, the corrosion resistance of alloy was generally increased as the Σ(A) was increased. However, the corrosion behavior of alloy could not be fully explained by considering only annealing parameter. This is because the microstructure and the precipitate characteristics can be greatly influenced by cold rolling and final heat treatment even though the Σ(A) was almost unchanged