Measurement of elastic modulus of zirconium alloy oxide films

The internal stress of the oxide film has an important influence on the corrosion behavior of the zirconium alloy, and the elastic modulus is the key physical parameter for calculating and analyzing the internal stress of the oxide film. Due to the difficulty of testing, the elastic modulus of the zirconium alloy oxide film is usually estimated based on the data of bulk materials. In this paper, the elastic modulus and the hardness of the oxide film of the zirconium alloy under various conditions was analyzed by nano-indentation tests. It was found that the elastic modulus and hardness of the oxide surface and oxide cross section are different. Compared with the alloys corroded in pure water, the elastic modulus and hardness of the oxide film are smaller for the alloys corroded in lithium-containing water. (authors)