Delayed hydride cracking in Zr–2.5Nb pressure tube material

Delayed hydride cracking (DHC) is one of the localized forms of hydride embrittlement caused by hydrogen migration up the tensile stress gradient. In this work, DHC velocity was measured along the axial direction of the double melted, cold worked and stress-relieved Zirconium–2.5Niobium pressure tube material in the temperature range of 162–283 °C. The DHC crack growth was monitored using the direct current potential drop (DCPD) technique. The calibration curves between the normalized DCPD output and the normalized crack length at different test temperatures were also used to determine the DHC velocity. A simple model capable of explaining the observed features of DHC is proposed. The model explains the basis for the occurrence of incubation period associated with DHC crack initiation. Activation energy associated with the DHC in this alloy was found to be 56 kJ/mole.