Abstract
In this work, a comparative study was conducted on the tensile behaviors of two representative accident-tolerant cladding coatings, i.e., CrN coating and Cr coating, at both room temperature and 400 °C by in situ tensile testing. The surface and interfacial cracking behaviors of the coatings were experimentally tested and analyzed, with the surface crack densities predicted by a modified shear-lag model. The results showed that CrN coating exhibited brittle fracture at both room temperature and 400 °C, while the failure of Cr coating showed brittle-to-ductile transition when increasing the temperature from room temperature to 400 °C. Moreover, Cr coating exhibited better crack resistance than that of CrN coating under mechanical loading at both temperatures, due to: (i) the higher fracture toughness and ductility of Cr; (ii) better deformation compatibility between Cr coating and Zr-4 substrate. In particular, at 400 °C, Cr coating with excellent plastic deformability exhibited a protective or prohibitive effect on the crack initiation process of the Zr-4 substrate. It is indicated that the mechanical deformation properties and failure mechanisms of Cr and CrN coatings are important factors that should be considered in the selection and evaluation of accident-tolerant coatings.
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