Termomekanisk behandling av kompositkapsling till kärnbränsleelement

摘要

Composite cladding 12 for a nuclear fuel element containing fuel pellets 13 is formed with a zirconium metal barrier layer 22 bonded a to the inside surface of a zirconium alloy tube 21. The composite tube is sized by a cold working tube reduction process and is heat treated after final reduction to provide complete recrystallization of the zirconium metal barrier layer and a fine- grained microstructure. The zirconium alloy tube is stress-relieved but is not fully recrystallized. The crystallographic structure of the zirconium metal barrier layer may be improved by compressive deformation such as shot-peening.