The a-c impedance measurements were made for oxide films formed in high temperature steam on Zry-2 with varying precipitate distributions. TEM and EDX analyses were also carried out on precipitates in oxide films. The electrical resistivity of oxide films tends to increase with an increase in nodular corrosion resistance, with the β-quenched samples having the highest resistivity. The resistivity tended to increase with a decrease in average precipitate size. EDX analyses showed that precipitates in oxide films dissolved into oxide matrix during the corrosion process in high temperature steam. Very fine precipitates in β-quenched Zry-2 would have disappeared early in the corrosion process. The improvement in corrosion resistance by β-quenching was attributed not to short-circuit effects of precipitates but to a change in oxide properties induced by an increase in the amount of alloying elements retained in the matrix.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.