Zirconium tin iron alloys for nuclear fuel rods and structural parts for high burnup
AssigneeSiemens Power Corporation
InventorsLeonard F. P. Van Swam, Friedrich Garzarolli, Heinrich Ruhmann
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Zirconium alloys for use in an aqueous environment subject to high fluence of a water reactor and characterized by improved corrosion resistance, consisting essentially of 0.3 to 1.8 weight percent tin, 0.1 to 0.65 weight percent iron, the balance of alloys being essentially nuclear grade zirconium with incidental impurities and having a microstructure of Zr.sub.3 Fe second phase precipitates distributed uniformly intragranularly and intergranularly to form radiation resistant second phase precipitates in the alloy matrix.
Claims15
Corrosion resistant nuclear reactor components comprising an alloy consisting essentially of 0.3 to 1.8 weight percent tin, 0.1 to 0.65 weight percent iron, 0.003 to 0.015 weight percent of silicon, 0.005 to 0.02 weight percent carbon, and 0.09 to 0.22 weight percent oxygen, the balance of said alloy being essentially nuclear grade zirconium with incidental impurities and imparted with a microstructure of Zr.sub.3 Fe second phase precipitates distributed uniformly intragranularly and intergranularly forming radiation resistant second phase precipitates in the alloy matrix so as to result in increased resistance to aqueous corrosion to that of Zircaloy when irradiated to high fluence, and wherein the second phase Zr.sub.3 Fe precipitates in said alloy have an average diameter of from about 40 to 300 nm.
A fuel rod cladding tube for a nuclear reactor fuel rod comprised of an alloy consisting essentially of 0.3 to 1.8 weight percent tin, 0.1 to 0.65 weight percent iron, the balance of said alloy being essentially nuclear grade zirconium with incidental impurities and having a microstructure of Zr.sub.3 Fe second phase precipitates distributed uniformly intragranularly and intergranularly forming radiation resistant second phase precipitates in the alloy matrix so as to result in increased resistance to aqueous corrosion to that of Zircaloy when irradiated to high fluence.
Zirconium alloys for use in an aqueous environment subject to high fluence of a water reactor and characterized by improved corrosion resistance, the alloys consisting essentially of 0.3 to 1.8 weight percent tin, 0.1 to 0.65 weight percent iron, the balance of said alloys being essentially nuclear grade zirconium with incidental impurities and having a microstructure of Zr.sub.3 Fe second phase precipitates distributed uniformly intragranularly and intergranularly to form radiation resistant second phase precipitates in the alloy matrix so as to result in increased resistance to aqueous corrosion to that of Zircaloy when irradiated to high fluence.
A structural part for a nuclear reactor fuel assembly comprising a zirconium alloy consisting essentially of from 0.3 to 1.8 weight percent tin, from 0.1 to 0.65 weight percent iron, the balance of said alloy being essentially nuclear grade zirconium with incidental impurities and having a microstructure of Zr.sub.3 Fe second phase precipitates distributed uniformly intragranularly and intergranularly forming radiation resistant second phase precipitates in the alloy matrix so as to result in increased resistance to aqueous corrosion to that of Zircaloy when irradiated to high fluence.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.