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<p>The Accident-Tolerant Fuel (ATF) concept involves applying protective coatings to fuel cladding surfaces to suppress the zirconium-steam reaction and prevent free hydrogen generation, which can embrittle the alloy through the formation of unfavorably oriented hydrides. However, spacer grids (SGs)—an essential structural component of fuel assemblies—remain unprotected by such coatings. This study investigates the structural and crystallographic texture inhomogenity of stamped SG cells made from Zr-1%Nb alloy (applicable for Russian VVER fuel assembly design) using synchrotron x-ray diffraction and SEM. Plastic deformation during stamping induces circumferential and through-thickness texture gradients, which are attributed to heterogeneous stress distribution across the cell. The integral texture parameters (f-parameter) in different regions vary by more than 0.1 units, indicating strong anisotropy. Post-stamping annealing in a free state does not eliminate these inhomogeneities, resulting in a reproducible hydride orientation pattern. The findings suggest that, to control the properties of SGs, the annealing process must be modified: providing tensile stresses are reliably applied to the outer surface of the SG dimples regions when heated.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>

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Dependence of Hydride Orientation on Crystallographic Texture and Stress State in Stamped and Recrystallized Spacer Grid Cells

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月12日

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  • M. G. Isaenkova,
  • A. V. Tenishev,
  • V. V. Mikhalchik,
  • M. I. Petrov,
  • A. A. Bazhenov,
  • V. A. Fesenko,
  • I. V. Kozlov,
  • V. A. Rogovskiy

摘要

The Accident-Tolerant Fuel (ATF) concept involves applying protective coatings to fuel cladding surfaces to suppress the zirconium-steam reaction and prevent free hydrogen generation, which can embrittle the alloy through the formation of unfavorably oriented hydrides. However, spacer grids (SGs)—an essential structural component of fuel assemblies—remain unprotected by such coatings. This study investigates the structural and crystallographic texture inhomogenity of stamped SG cells made from Zr-1%Nb alloy (applicable for Russian VVER fuel assembly design) using synchrotron x-ray diffraction and SEM. Plastic deformation during stamping induces circumferential and through-thickness texture gradients, which are attributed to heterogeneous stress distribution across the cell. The integral texture parameters (f-parameter) in different regions vary by more than 0.1 units, indicating strong anisotropy. Post-stamping annealing in a free state does not eliminate these inhomogeneities, resulting in a reproducible hydride orientation pattern. The findings suggest that, to control the properties of SGs, the annealing process must be modified: providing tensile stresses are reliably applied to the outer surface of the SG dimples regions when heated.

Graphical Abstract