Abstract
The susceptibility of stress relieved Zircaloy-2 tubes to liquid metal embrittlement by cesium (Cs) and/or cadmium (Cd) at 340°C using the argon pressurization technique was investigated. The results of liquid Cs experiments showed considerable scattering while reproducible results were obtained in liquid Cs-Cd experiments. Considerable embrittlement was observed by Cd, particularly at 100 mg and liquid Cs-Cd mixture. Brittle fracture with X-mark and burst was observed. The embrittlement effect was attributed to Cd due to the formation of a Zr-Cd intermetallic layer which was observed by SEM and metallography. The increase in wettability by liquid Cs led to considerable embrittlement of the Cs-Cd mixture even when small amounts of Cd were used. It also led to considerable and reproducible results.
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