The paper investigates the dependence of the transformation texture of Zr-2.5wt%Nb tubes and rods on the initial texture, the method of heating (furnacing, conductive heating, inductive heating) and cooling (furnace cooling, water quenching, water shower), stress, and thermal cycling. It was demonstrated that the primary factors determining the transformation texture are the initial texture and the heating rate for quenching. From the investigation results, a method of final thermal treatment of finished zirconium reactor core components (pressure tubes, guide tubes, and cladding fuel rods) is suggested, allowing the destruction of their texture without changing the well-established manufacturing process. The suggested SHF heating includes the use of the α→β→α transformation with fast heating up to the β-phase, subsequent quenching for texture destruction, and annealing for transformation from the metastable α'-state to the equilibrium double-phase αZr + βNb state.

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