Creep flow and fracture behavior of the oxygen-enriched alpha phase in zirconium alloys

Raphael Chosson (1, 2) , Anne-Françoise Gourgues-Lorenzon (1) , V. Vandenberghe (3) , Jean-Christophe Brachet (2) , Jérôme Crépin (1)

1 MAT - Centre des Matériaux
2 SRMA - Service des Recherches Métallurgiques Appliquées
3 SEMI - Service d'Etudes des Matériaux Irradiés

During hypothetical Loss-Of-Coolant-Accident (LOCA) scenario, zirconium alloy fuel cladding tubes are exposed to internal pressure and high temperature oxidation, so that an oxygen-stabilized α(O) phase, forms from the outer surface of the cladding, under the zirconia oxide layer. The high-temperature viscoplastic flow and fracture behavior of the α(O) phase were characterized through axial creep tests performed under vacuum, on representative model materials containing 10–30 at.% of oxygen. Creep strengthening and ductile-to-brittle transition were quantified as a function of oxygen content and test temperature, and modeled into viscoplastic flow constitutive equations and an empirical fracture criterion.

Mots clés: Embrittlement; Oxidation; Zirconium alloys; Creep; High temperature deformation

Domaines: Physique [physics]; Matière Condensée [cond-mat]; Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

Raphael Chosson, Anne-Françoise Gourgues-Lorenzon, V. Vandenberghe, Jean-Christophe Brachet, Jérôme Crépin. Creep flow and fracture behavior of the oxygen-enriched alpha phase in zirconium alloys. Scripta Materialia, 2016, 117, pp.20-23. ⟨10.1016/j.scriptamat.2016.02.021⟩. ⟨hal-01288691⟩