Manufacturing of irradiation simulated cladding tube
Patent Title: Method for adding hydrogen to zirconium alloy, Patent Application No: 1998-162874
Photo 1 shows a cross-section of a fuel cladding tube used in a pressurized water reactor (PWR). As fuel cladding tubes are exposed to high-temperature water of approximately 300°C during use in a nuclear reactor, an oxide film is formed on the outer surface of the cladding tube, a part of the generated hydrogen is absorbed, and most of the hydrogen precipitates as hydrides at the outer-side region of the cladding tube.
It is possible to reproduce such a state in which hydrogen precipitates at the outer-side region of the cladding tube without irradiation in a reactor. Photo 2 shows a cross-section of the cladding tube manufactured by out-of-pile hydrogen absorption treatment. Hydride precipitation on the cladding tube used in a nuclear reactor is well simulated.
