Abstract
In this paper, Cr-coated zirconium fuel claddings were treated with ultrasonic shot-peening process (USPP). The mechanism of improving fatigue performance of Cr-coated zirconium fuel cladding was investigated by low cycle fatigue experiment. It was shown that USPP effectively improved fatigue life of Cr-coated zirconium fuel cladding under different temperatures. The enhancement mechanism is that USPP treatment changes the surface topography, increases in residual compressive stress and decreases surface roughness of the Cr coating. The fracture cross-section of tested specimens show that the Cr coating has little plastic deformation, showing brittle fracture characteristics. In addition, compared to the large amount of cracking inside the original Cr coating, the integrity of the USPP-Cr coating is better. The USPP-Cr coating has fewer cracks penetrating into the substrate, indicating that the Cr coating with USPP treatment has excellent fatigue crack resistance.
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