LWR pellet-cladding interactions: Materials solutions to SCC

Zirconium alloys are commonly used as fuel-cladding tubes in water reactors because of their inherent resistance to a variety of environmental conditions. One of the major fuel-reliability issues of the 1970s and early 1980s was pellet cladding interaction (PCI). The mechanism of PCI is one of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) by a combination of aggressive fission products and cladding stress from pellet expansion. The severity of the problem, in particular in boiling water reactors, led to the development of barrier cladding by co-extrusion of Zircaloy-2 with an inner iodide zirconium that essentially eliminated the PCI-related failures. However, the substantially lower corrosion resistance of the zirconium layer led to clad breach and failures by other mechanisms. The difference in corrosion resistance could lead to some dramatic differences in post-failure fuel operations. This article briefly summarizes how PCI-SCC factors led to the development of PCI-resistant fuel cladding and concludes with a note on future research needs. For more information, contact K.L. Murty, North Carolina State University, Department of Nuclear Engineering, Raleigh, NC 27695-7909 USA; (919) 515-3657; fax (919) 515-5115; e-mail murty@eos.ncsu.edu.