Hydrogen diffusion process in the oxides formed on Zirconium Alloys during corrosion in Pressurized Water Reactor Conditions

Marc Tupin (1) , Frantz Martin (2) , Caroline Bisor (1) , Romain Verlet (1) , Philippe Bossis (1) , Jacques Chêne (3) , François Jomard (4) , Pascal Berger (5) , Serge Pascal (6) , Nicolas Nuns (7)

1 SEMI - Service d'Etudes des Matériaux Irradiés
2 SCCME - Service de la Corrosion et du Comportement des Matériaux dans leur Environnement
3 LAMBE - Laboratoire Analyse et Modélisation pour la Biologie et l'Environnement
4 GEMAC - Groupe d'Etude de la Matière Condensée
5 LEEL - UMR 3685 - Laboratoire d'Etudes des Eléments Légers
6 LM2S - Laboratoire de Mécanique Systèmes et Simulation
7 IMMCL - Institut des Molécules et de la Matière Condensée de Lille

During the corrosion in primary water of zirconium alloys, a fraction of hydrogen from the water diffuses through the oxide into the alloy. To better understand the hydriding process, isotopic tracers and SIMS experiments were performed on oxides grown on Zircaloy-4 alloy under simulated primary water conditions. Results showed the oxide film in pre-transition is divided into two sub-layers, an external one, highly permeable to hydrogen and an inner protective one. Thermal Desorption Spectroscopy analyses revealed two interaction sites of hydrogen, located in each oxide sublayer. Apparent diffusion coefficients of hydrogen in both oxide sublayers were estimated with different methods.

Domaines: Matériaux

Marc Tupin, Frantz Martin, Caroline Bisor, Romain Verlet, Philippe Bossis, et al.. Hydrogen diffusion process in the oxides formed on Zirconium Alloys during corrosion in Pressurized Water Reactor Conditions. Corrosion Science, 2016, 116, pp.1-13. ⟨10.1016/j.corsci.2016.10.027⟩. ⟨cea-01465798⟩