Deposition of a protective coating including metal-containing and chromium-containing layers on zirconium alloy for nuclear power applications

Abstract

The invention relates to compositions and methods for coating a zirconium alloy cladding of a fuel element for a nuclear water reactor. The coating includes a first tier or layer and a second tier or layer. The first layer includes an elemental metal and the second layer is an oxidation-resistant layer that includes elemental chromium. The first layer serves as an intermediate layer between the zirconium alloy substrate and the second layer. This intermediate layer can be effective to improve adhesion of the second layer to the zirconium alloy substrate. The multilayer coating forms a protective layer which provides improved capability for the zirconium alloy cladding to withstand normal and accident conditions to which it is exposed in the nuclear reactor.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.