Search results for "Zirconium oxidation"

Coupled Modelling of ZrO 2 /α-Zr(O) Layers Growth under Thermal and Mechanical Gradients

2019

The oxidation process of a nuclear reactor fuel rod clad made of zirconium is simulated. It is assumed that the oxygen is transported by anionic diffusion in the zirconia layer (ZrO2). Part of this oxygen reacts at the interface between the zirconia layer and the metal, while the rest diffuses in the oxygen-enriched metal volume (α-Zr(O)) to the core of the metal by an interstitial mechanism. The model is based on the thermodynamics of irreversible processes and takes into account the influence of driving forces on the oxygen migration in the metal such as the oxygen concentration gradient, the temperature gradient [1] and the mechanical stress gradient [2]. The growth of both ZrO2 and α-Zr…