High temperature oxidation and room temperature axial strength of pre-oxidized zircaloy-4 cladding after a simulated LOCA

Revisiting weight-gain correlations for as-fabricated Zircaloy-4 cladding tubes during steam oxidation

“…A few steam oxidation tests are performed at 1200°C using sealed end plugs leading to one-sided oxidation. For some of the tests, the metallography is not sufficiently contrasted to measure (O) layer thicknesses, in this case eddy current measurements combined with zirconia layer measurements are used to assess the oxygen stabilized  layer thickness [DES21]. In this situation, the (O) layer thickness is assumed to be the same at inner and outer surfaces.…”

Modeling diffusive phase transformation and fracture in viscoplastic materials

“…The combined action of mechanical stresses and phase transformations can significantly affect the response of structures. For example, in case of a loss of coolant accident in a pressurized water nuclear reactor, an interaction between oxygen diffusion, oxidation, creep and cracking phenomena is observed (Campello et al, 2017;Chosson et al, 2016;Desquines et al, 2021;Dominguez, 2018;Thieurmel et al, 2019). Modeling of the mechanical behavior coupled with the phase transformation of a multilayer material is therefore an important issue.…”

“…Four physical phenomena are therefore considered including fracture, diffusion, phase transformation and viscoplasticity.The simultaneous consideration of these four physics is important for the study of the combined action of a mechanical stress and an aggressive environment encountered in several applications in industry. For example, the phenomenon of loss of coolant accident in a nuclear reactor (Campello et al, 2017;Chosson et al, 2016;Desquines et al, 2021;Dominguez, 2018;Thieurmel et al, 2019) or the well-known phenomenon of stress corrosion cracking (Sieradzki and Newman, 1987). The formulation of the model is carried out in an appropriate framework that easily allows its extension with new physical ingredients or additional couplings.…”