1987

Lunabba, Ralf

In the development of zirconium alloys for nuclear service, one of the main tasks has been to improve the corrosion properties. Subsequently the corrosion of zirconium alloys has been studied extensively since the beginning of the commercial nuclear era, resulting in numerous reports and articles. The aim of this work has been to review the recent trends in opinions on the corrosion mechanisms, the trends in alloy development, and the in-reactor experience gained up till now. Some of the properties of the zirconium oxide film have also been given, the properties can be used as input data in corrosion models. Among zirconium alloys, mainly Zircaloy-2, Zircaloy-4, Zr-l%Nb and Zr-2.5%Nb, the only alloys of commercial importance in nuclear service, have been discussed. The development of water cooled power plants seems not to go into areas where experimental alloys would be superior compared to traditional alloys.