Oxidation Kinetics of Zircaloy-2 in The Saturated Steam Medium at A Temperature Range of 250 - 300 0C and pH From 5 to 9

The oxidation of zircaloy-2 in saturated steam medium has been studied to deal with the understanding of the oxidation kinetics and mechanism of cladding material of the BWR (boiling Water Reactor) fuel element. The experiments has been performed at temperature (T) range of 250 - 300 0C, for a time range (t) of 1-16 hours, and pH from 5 to 9 utilizing non continuous gravimetric method. The results show that at pH of 5 and temperatures between 250 - 300 0C the zircaloy-2 oxidation kinetic increases quantitatively during 1 hour to 2 hours exposure and then it decreases according to a hyperbolic function In the pH=7 at T=2500C the zircaloy-2 oxidation kinetic increases linearly and at T=275-300 0C it increases following a logarithmic function. At pH=9 and T=250-3000C zircaloy-2 oxidation kinetic increases following a logarithmic function. The initial oxidation mechanism of zircaloy-2 at pH from 5 to 9 obeys the Pilling Bedworth theory