Effects of minor alloying elements added in simulated cladding on lattice thermal expansion

Decreasing Hydrogen Content within Zirconium Using Au and Pd Nanoparticles as Sacrificial Agents under Pressurized Water at High Temperature

“…The XRD pattern of a zirconium pellet before the corrosion experiment is shown in Figure S1 . At room temperature and atmospheric pressure, zirconium exhibits a hexagonal crystal structure [ 2 , 6 ], and the diffraction patterns associated with hexagonal Zr can be clearly observed in Figure S1 .…”

“…Zirconium-based alloys consisting of 95% or more zirconium are typically used as nuclear fuel cladding materials in pressurized water reactors (PWRs) owing to their superior mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, chemical stability, heat transfer, and thermal absorption neutron cross-section compared to other alloys [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. During reactor operation, the cladding is constantly in contact with the primary circuit water to transfer the thermal energy produced by the nuclear fuel to the water for the generation of electrical energy [ 9 ].…”