Hydrogen pick-up in zirconium alloys
Research Project, 2011
– 2015
Zirconium alloys are used as fuel cladding materials in light water nuclear reactors. During service at high temperature and pressure oxidation in water takes place, and part of the released hydrogen finds its way to the metal, potentially embrittling the material. The project aims at understanding the mechanisms involved in hydrogen transport in primarily Zircaloy-2 (a Zr-Sn-Fe-Cr-Ni-O alloy) used in boiling water reactors. The oxide-metal interface region of both autoclave tested and irradiated material is studied by atom probe tomography (APT), and hydrogen transport and reduction is modeled using ab-initio methods (DFT). The function of transition metal atoms as sites for hydrogen reduction is studied.
Participants
Hans-Olof Andrén (contact)
Materials Microstructure
Mikaela Lindgren
Environmental Inorganic Chemistry
Itai Panas
Environmental Inorganic Chemistry
Gustav Sundell
Materials Microstructure
Mattias Thuvander
Materials Microstructure
Collaborations
Imperial College London
London, United Kingdom
Pennsylvania State University
State college, USA
Sandvik
Stockholm, Sweden
University of Manchester
Manchester, United Kingdom
University of Oxford
Oxford, United Kingdom
Vattenfall
Stockholm, Sweden
Funding
Westinghouse Electric Sweden AB
Project ID: Väteupptag
Funding Chalmers participation during 2011–2015