Stress relieved Zircaloy-4 recovery and recrystallization during fast anisothermal transients

Ahmed Chaieb (1) , Nathanaël Mozzani (1) , Antoine Ambard (1) , Aurore Parrot (1) , Alain Köster (2) , Jérôme Crépin (2)

1 EDF R&D MMC - Matériaux et Mécanique des Composants
2 CDM - Centre des Matériaux

Cold-work stress-relieved Zircaloy-4 kinetics of recovery-recrystallization has been studied under dynamic conditions. A specific furnace dilatometer was used to heat Zircaloy-4 specimens up to 430 °C∙s〗^(-1). Comparison of dynamic results with data of isothermal recovery and recrystallization showed that the process is delayed when the heating rate is increased. A model was proposed to describe the evolution of the material unrecrystallized fraction during rapid anisothermal transients. Comparisons showed a good agreement between the experimental results and the model predictions.

Mots clés: RIA transients; anisothermal conditions; Zircaloy-4; reactivity initiated accident; fuel cladding

Domaines: Sciences de l'ingénieur [physics]

Ahmed Chaieb, Nathanaël Mozzani, Antoine Ambard, Aurore Parrot, Alain Köster, et al.. Stress relieved Zircaloy-4 recovery and recrystallization during fast anisothermal transients. Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 2022, 59 (12), pp.1-9. ⟨10.1080/00223131.2022.2076750⟩. ⟨hal-04030267⟩