Air oxidation of Zircaloy-4, M5® and ZIRLO™ cladding alloys at high temperatures

The paper presents the results of isothermal and transient oxidation experiments of the advanced cladding alloys M5® and ZIRLO™ in comparison to Zircaloy-4 in air at temperatures from 973 to 1853 K. lly, oxidation in air leads to a strong degradation of the cladding material. The main mechanism of this process is the formation of zirconium nitride and its re-oxidation. From the point of view of safety, the barrier effect of the fuel cladding is lost much earlier than during accident transients with a steam atmosphere only. ison of the three alloys investigated reveals a qualitatively similar, but quantitatively varying oxidation behavior in air. The mainly parabolic oxidation kinetics, where applicable, is comparable for the three alloys. Strong differences of up to 500% in oxidation rates were observed after transition to linear kinetics at temperatures below 1300 K. per presents kinetic rate constants as well as critical times and oxide scale thicknesses at the point of transition from parabolic to linear kinetics.