Fig. 4: Characteristics of oxides in Zircaloy.
From: Oxidation of zirconium alloys for nuclear fuel cladding
(a) Band contrast map showing oxide/Zr interface in Zr-0.5 Nb; (b) Phase map and (c) Texture component maps for m-ZrO2, h-ZrO and α-Zr. Reproduced with permission from ref. 28, copyright (Elsevier, 2019); (d) Proportion of t-ZrO2 forming on Zircaloy-4 oxidized in the temperatures range of 800 °C to 1100 °C. The vertical axis T represents t-ZrO2, while M represents m-ZrO2. Reproduced with permission from ref. 29, copyright (Elsevier, 2015). (e) Bright-field TEM image of oxide formed on Zircaloy-4 after oxidized in deionized water for 45 days at 360 °C. Reproduced with permission from ref. 58, copyright (Elsevier, 2022); (f) (0\(111\))-orientation map of Zr substrate grains of (e), the black curve shows the variation of pore density. Reproduced with permission from ref. 58, copyright (Elsevier, 2022); (g) Cross-sectional bright-field TEM micrographs obtained from the oxide layers in Zircaloy-4, the inset shows the enlarged TEM image of a grain boundary containing a nano-pore. Reproduced with permission from ref. 57, copyright (Elsevier, 2010); (h) Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (GIXRD) patterns and (i) Raman spectra of the pre-oxidized Zircaloy-4 before and after irradiation. Reproduced with permission from ref. 61, copyright (Elsevier, 2023).
