Book Description

From the wide use of zirconium alloys as components in nuclear reactors, has come clear evidence that reactor radiation is a major corrosion parameter. The evidence emerges from comparisons of zirconium alloy corrosion behavior in different reactor types, for example, BWRs versus PWRs and in corresponding reactor loop chemistries; also, oxidation rates differ with location along components such as fuel rods and reactor pressure tubes. In most respects, oxidation effects on power reactor components are paralleled by oxidation behavior on specimens exposed to radiation in reactor loops.