Mechanisms of hydrogen uptake in zirconium alloys

Zirconium alloys are used as fuel cladding materials in light water nuclear reactors. During service at high temperature and pressure oxidation in water takes place, and part of the released hydrogen finds its way to the metal, potentially embrittling the material. The project aims at understanding the mechanisms involved in hydrogen transport in primarily Zircaloy-2 (a Zr-Sn-Fe-Cr-Ni-O alloy) used in boiling water reactors. The oxide-metal interface region of both autoclave tested and irradiated material is studied by atom probe tomography (APT), and hydrogen transport and reduction is modeled using ab-initio methods (DFT). The function of transition metal atoms as sites for hydrogen reduction is studied.​​

Partner organizations

• Pennsylvania State University (Academic, USA)
• Sandvik (Private, Sweden)
• Studsvik (Private, Sweden)
• University of Manchester (Academic, United Kingdom)
• University of Oxford (Academic, United Kingdom)
• Imperial College London (Private, United Kingdom)
• Vattenfall (Private, Sweden)