Study of stress effects in the oxidation of Zircaloy-4

The oxidation of zirconium alloy Zy-4 is due to an anionic diffusion of oxygen leading to the formation of an oxide layer of zirconia. According to the Pilling and Bedworth ratio of the Zr/ZrO2 system, the oxide scale is under compressive stresses. This stress state may play an important role during the corrosion process, from the phases as well as from the kinetics point of view. In order to better understand the eventual relationship between oxide phases, oxidation kinetics and stresses, an experimental apparatus was developed in our laboratory. It allows the application of external tensile stresses, in situ oxidation of the sample in controlled environment and X-ray diffraction analysis. This paper, first results of Zy-4 oxidation under applied tensile stresses are presented.