Evaluation of the Zirconium Hydride Morphology at the Flaws in the CANDU Pressure Tube Using a Novel Metric

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The Zr-2.5%Nb alloy used to manufacture the pressure tubes for the CANDU 600 power plant experiences continual corrosion when the reactor’s fuel channels are functioning normally. Analysis of the hydrogen accumulation circumstances, the creation of zirconium hydride platelets, evaluation of the platelets’ reorientation in the thermo–mechanical field at volumetric flaws, and determination of the hydrogen morphology are therefore significant goals of the worldwide research being conducted in this field. In this paper, pressure tube alloy samples with artificial V flaws were hydrided by the technique of electrolytic deposition of a hydrogen film layer, followed by a specific thermal treatment. Micrographs of the Zr-2.5%Nb alloy samples in the radial cross-section were taken to examine the hydride reorientation phenomenon that occurred when the samples were heated under mechanical stress. The complex stress field around a tip flaw promoted the formation of some circles from hydride filaments. To characterize the zirconium hydride morphology in the reorientation zone at the volumetric flaw tip, image analysis and processing techniques were applied. To better characterize the reorientation zone from the point of view of embrittlement and mechanical behavior, this paper proposes a novel metric for the morphology of hydrides located in the reorientation zone. This work’s findings are beneficial for the investigation of CANDU fuel channels’ structural integrity.