Measurements of hydrogen permeation and absorption in zirconium oxide scales

The hydrogen absorption and the permeation behavior through the oxide layer formed on modified Zircaloy-4 (Zry-4) alloys were investigated. The modified Zry-4 was prepared by altering the chemical composition of standard Zry-4. The tin content of Zry-4 (1.5 wt%) was reduced to 0.5 wt%, and alloying elements Si, O and Nb were added from 0.01 to 0.2 wt%. The oxide layers were grown in a static autoclave at 360 °C under 18.3 MPa for 150 days. Fick’s law was used to calculate the diffusivity of hydrogen after the steady state of the permeation flux was reached. The diffusivity of hydrogen in the 0.5Sn–0.1Nb–0.1Fe–0.2Cr–0.2O–Zr specimen was lower than that in the 1.5Sn–0.2Fe–0.1Cr–0.1O–0.01Si–Zr and Zry-4 specimens. As the area fraction of precipitates increased, the hydrogen diffusivity increased whereas an inverse relationship between the diffusivity and the amount of the tetragonal phase was observed. In addition to the oxide structural study, the effects of the microstructure of the zirconium alloys such as precipitates and grain boundaries on the hydrogen absorption were studied.