Irradiation with hydrogen atoms and ions as an accelerated hydrogenation test of zirconium alloys and protective coatings

Abstract

In this work, the results of the irradiation of untreated, preliminarily Ar+-bombarded and Cr-coated samples of zirconium alloy E110 (Zr-1%Nb) with deuterium atoms and ions of deuterium plasma were compared with the results of their exposure to superheated water steam (673 K, 11 MPa; 673 K, 0.1 MPa; 633 K, 0.1 MPa). It was concluded that, despite of the difference in the rates of the oxide layer formation, the features of hydrogenation are similar under the two kinds of impact. However, the hydrogen uptake under irradiation occurs hundreds of times faster than during the steam test. The most effective hydrogenation was achieved under irradiation of the E110 sample with 300–500 eV/at ions of deuterium plasma without oxygen. These circumstances allow suggesting the irradiation with ions of hydrogen plasma as an accelerated hydrogenation test of zirconium alloys and protective coatings under conditions simulating the environment of light-water reactor's core. The proposed method could be realized using a simple plasma device and it does not require high power consumption or special qualification of staff.