The Creep Characteristics of Zirconium-base Alloy

Zirconium계 합금의 Creep특성

The-steady-state creep mechanism and behavior of Zircaloy-4 used as cladding materials in PWR have been investigated in air environment over the temp, ranges from 600 to $645^{\circ}C$ and stress ranges from 4 to $7kg/mm^2$. The stress exponents for the creep deformation of this alloy, n were decreased 4.81, 4.71, 4.64, and 4.56 at 600, 615, 630 and $645^{\circ}C$, respectively; the stress exponents decreased with increasing the temperature and got closer to about 5. The apparent activation energies, Q, were 62.1, 60.0, 57.9 and 55.4 kcal/mole at stresses of 4, 5, 6, $7kg/mm^2$, respectively; the activation energies decreased with increasing the stress and were close to those of volume self diffusion of Zr in Zr-Sn-Fe-Cr system. In results, it can be considered that the creep deformation for Zircaloy-4 was controlled by the dislocation climb over the ranges of this experimental conditions. Larson-Miller parameter, P, for the crept specimens was obtained as P=(T+460)(logt,+23). The failure plane observed by SEM slightly showed up intergranular fracture at this experiment ranges. However, it was essentially dominated by the dimple phenomenon, which was a characteristics of the transgranular fracture.