Oxidation of fuel cladding candidate materials in steam environments at high temperature and pressure

Under certain severe accident conditions, the fuel rods of nuclear power plants are exposed to high temperature/pressure steam environments in which the Zr alloy cladding is rapidly oxidized. As alternative claddings, the oxidation resistances of SiC-based materials and stainless steels with high Cr and/or Al additions have been examined from 800-1200 °C in high-pressure steam environments. Very low reaction kinetics were observed with alumina-forming FeCrAl alloys at 1200 °C while Fe-Cr alloys with only 15-20% Cr were rapidly attacked.