Chromium Coating as a Surface Protection of Zirconium Alloys

Increasing of nuclear safety, higher demands for longer nuclear fuel campaign and higher levels of burnout are based on improving the properties of zirconium alloys. Protective coatings appears to be a promising way to reduce their chemical reactivity and increase resistance to hydriding. In this work, a thin chromium coating applied to a standard Zr1Nb zirconium alloy was studied using in-situ impedance spectroscopy. Exposure was carried out at a temperature of 280 ° C and a pressure of 8 MPa in a simulated WWER primary coolant environment. The results show that the chromium-coated Zr1Nb alloy is under these conditions oxidized significantly slower than the non-coated alloy.