Hydrogen permeation resistance and characterization of Si–Al and Si–Zr composite sol oxide coating on surface of zirconium hydride

The hydrogen permeation resistance of Si–Zr(SZ) and Si–Al(SA) composite sol oxide coating on zirconium hydride blocks(Zr H) was studied. SZ and SA composite sol were prepared by sol–gel method. SZ and SA composite oxide coatings were prepared on the surface of Zr H(in situ oxidized or not) in turns by dip-coating and heat treatment. Hydrogen permeation of Zr Hwith and without composite oxide coating was compared.Hydrogen desorption experiments in thermal vacuum show that hydrogen permeation resistance of SA composite oxide coating is better than that of SZ, to a certain extent,which could decrease hydrogen thermal loss. Experimental results in the working condition show that the SA composite oxide coating can not only prevent hydrogen permeation, but also retard contact and reaction between COand Zr Hmatrix, which could mitigate excessive oxidation of in situ oxide film. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry(DSC–TG) analysis was performed to investigate the decomposition behavior of SA and SZ liquid sol in heat treatment process. X-ray diffraction(XRD) and scanning electron microscopy(SEM) analysis were employed to characterize the phase composition,surface and cross-section morphology of the coatings.

Solid solubility extension and microstructure evolution of cast zirconium yttrium alloy

Yttrium addition can improve the oxidation resistance, mitigate hydrogen embrittlement and thus enhance the mechanical properties of the zirconium alloy. To study solid solubility extension of yttrium in zirconium alloy, the lattice parameters of ：t-Zr phase in Zr-Y alloy were accurately determined by X-ray diffraction （XRD）. Yttrium exhibits solid solubility extension in the cast zirconium alloy which forms a metastable supersaturated solid solution with solubility limit of around 3 wt%. The effect of yttrium and thermal treatment on the microstructure of the alloys was investigated by optical microscopy （OM） and scanning electron microscope （SEM）. The cast Zr-Y alloy shows a normal polycrys- talline structure with dispersed α-Y particles when Y content is lower than 4 wt%, while the alloy shows a eutectic structure with dendrites formation when the Y content is higher. Yttrium exhibits a strong grain refining effect on zirconium alloy and precipitates from the metastable supersaturated Zr matrix after annealing at 700 and 900 ℃.

Preparation of Al-Hf master alloy by aluminothermic reduction of HfO_(2)

The Al-Hf alloy was prepared by open aluminothermic reduction of HfO_(2) using CaF_(2) and Na F as the flux. The influence of the slag composition, the amount of aluminum, and the heat energizer was studied detailly to establish optimum conditions for the sufficient recovery of the alloy and the complete slag-alloy separation. The Al-Hf alloy with 40 wt% Hf was obtained by this method, and the maximum recovery was 70.7%. The microstructure of the alloy was observed by scanning electron microscope(SEM). Moreover, X-ray diffraction(XRD) analysis and energy-disperse spectrometry(EDS) were applied to characterize the formation of the phases. The results show that the alloy consists of Al and Al_(3)Hf phases and the oxygen content is about 0.2 wt%.