Zirconium alloy for nuclear reactor

Abstract

The invention specifically relates to a zirconium alloy for a nuclear reactor, belonging to the technical field of special alloy materials. The zirconium alloy comprises, by weight, 0.70 to 1.00% of Sn, 0.20 to 0.40% of Nb, 0.30 to 0.50% of Fe, 0.05 to 0.15% of Cr, 0.002 to 0.1% of Cu, Bi or Ge, 0.002 to 0.03% of Si or S, 0.06 to 0.15% of O, less than 0.008% of C, less than 0.006% of N, with the balance being zirconium. According to the invention, on the basis of a Zr-Sn-Nb alloy, other components used for improving alloy performance are added, and proper component contents are selected; the performance of the zirconium alloy provided by the invention meets requirements of high burn-up of a nuclear reactor on a core structural material. A product prepared from such prototype alloy has improved homogeneous corrosion resistance in pure water out of a reactor, especially in an aqueous lithium hydroxide solution, and has enhanced nodular corrosion resistance in high temperature steam. According to test results in detailed description of the invention, it is considered that the zirconium alloy has more excellent homogeneous and nodular corrosion resistance, high creep resistance and fatigue resistance and anti-irradiation growth performance when used in a reactor.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of special alloy materials, and in particular relates to a zirconium alloy material for nuclear reactors. Background technique [0002] Zirconium alloys are widely used as nuclear power reactor fuel cladding and other reactor internals due to their low neutron absorption cross section, excellent corrosion resistance and mechanical properties. During the development of light water reactors, fuel design puts forward high requirements on reactor core structural components, such as fuel element cladding, grids, guide tubes, etc. In the early days, these components were usually made of Zr-4 alloy . The design of high fuel consumption requires prolonging the residence time of these components in the stack and increasing the temperature of the coolant, so that the zirconium alloy components face a more harsh corrosion environment. These high requirements promote the improvement of the corrosion resistance of the Z...

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Problems solved by technology

Although people can accept the following point of view: the materials tested and tested in 360 ° C aqueous solution and 400 ° C steam can be used in pressurized water reactors, and those tested and tested in 360 ° C lithium-containing aqueous solution are more suitable for use in pressurized water reactors In high lithium concentration working conditions, those that pass the test in steam above 500°C can be used in boiling water reactors; moreover, in the above-mentioned published documents, it has been proved by test examples that the relevant zirconium alloys are more efficient than the previous ones. The zirconium-2 and zirconium-4 alloys have more excellent properties, but whether these alloys can be really applied in practice and show satisfactory technical effects is still unknown

Moreover, none of the above-mentioned literatures gives information about the behavior of the alloy against furuncle corrosion in 500°C steam.

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