Guochen Ding¹, Jing Zhang¹, Shurong Ding^1,*

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.32, No.1, pp. 1-1, 2024, DOI:10.32604/icces.2024.011410

Abstract Zirconium alloys have high strength, high corrosion resistance and low neutron absorption cross section, widely served as the nuclear cladding tubes or some other structural components. During the storage stage of spent fuels or in the lower-temperature reactor-core locations, the hydrogen atoms within the zirconium alloy components would diffuse to the crack tip owing to stress concentration, possibly initiating delayed hydride cracking (DHC) and posing a potential threat to nuclear safety. In this study, the CDM (continuum damage mechanics)-based multi-field coupling computational models are developed, with the hydride-induced hardening and embrittlement, hydride orientation contributions and… More >

Hailong Nie¹, Xincheng Shi¹, Wenkui Yang¹, Kaile Wang¹, Yuhong Zhao^2,1,3,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.77, No.2, pp. 1425-1443, 2023, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2023.044510 - 29 November 2023

Abstract Previous studies of hydride in zirconium alloys have mainly assumed an isotropic interface. In practice, the difference in crystal structure at the interface between the matrix phase and the precipitate phase results in an anisotropic interface. With the purpose of probing the real evolution of hydrides, this paper couples an anisotropy function in the interfacial energy and interfacial mobility. The influence of anisotropic interfacial energy and interfacial mobility on the morphology of hydride precipitation was investigated using the phase-field method. The results show that the isotropy hydride precipitates a slate-like morphology, and the anisotropic hydride… More >

Xin Wang^1,*, H. Fan¹

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.25, No.2, pp. 1-1, 2023, DOI:10.32604/icces.2023.09986

Abstract Precipitates play an important role in the evolution of irradiation-induced defects and mechanical property of irradiated metals. In this work, the effects of a Zr2Cu precipitate on the production and subsequent evolution of cascade-induced point defects (vacancies and interstitials) in ZrCu alloy were investigated by molecular dynamics simulations at room temperature. The simulation results show that the precipitate increases the number of residual point defects at the end of cascade. However, most of the residual defects reside in the precipitate and near precipitate boundary. In the matrix, more interstitials survive than vacancies. In addition, a… More >

Yan liu¹, Chuanlong Xu¹, Xiaobao Tian¹, Wentao Jiang¹, Qingyuan Wang¹, Haidong Fan^1,*

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.25, No.2, pp. 1-1, 2023, DOI:10.32604/icces.2023.09982

Abstract Zirconium alloys were widely used as fuel cladding in nuclear reactors. Stacking fault pyramid (SFP) is an irradiation-induced defect in zirconium. In this work, the formation process of SFP from a hexagonal vacancy plate on basal plane is studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The results show that, during the SFP formation from a basal vacancy plate, the dislocation is firstly dissociated into two partial dislocations and . The former one resides on the basal plane, while the latter one glides on the first-order pyramidal plane. The … More >

Xianling Fu^#, Hongliang Ding^#, Xin Wang^*, Lei Song, Yuan Hu^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.10, No.9, pp. 2303-2317, 2022, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2022.020759 - 30 May 2022

Abstract Although epoxy resin has been widely used in various fields, it still suffers from some problems including brittleness and flammability. In this study, a new phosphonic acid, N, N-bis(phosphomethyl) glycine (GDMP), was prepared by Mannich reaction with bio-based glycine and then a novel layered zirconium phosphonate (ZrGDMP) was synthesized using GDMP and zirconyl chloride hydrate as reactants. The chemical structure of ZrGDMP was well characterized by ¹H and ³¹P NMR, SEM, XRD and XPS. The effect of ZrGDMP on the flame retardancy, smoke suppression, strengthening and toughening performances of the epoxy matrix was investigated and evaluated.… More > Graphic Abstract

San-Qiang Shi

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.20, No.2, pp. 35-36, 2011, DOI:10.3970/icces.2011.020.035

Abstract Zirconium and its alloys are key structural materials used in the nuclear power industry. In service, these metals are susceptible to a slow corrosion process that leads to a gradual pickup of hydrogen impurities from the environment. It is well known that hydrogen impurity will be attracted to stress concentrators such as notch and crack tips. At a certain hydrogen level, a complicated pattern of hydride precipitates can develop around these stress concentrators. Because of the brittleness of these hydrides, the original strength of the alloys can be reduced by orders of magnitude, and the… More >

J. Lufrano¹, P. Sofronis¹

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.1, No.2, pp. 119-132, 2000, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2000.001.279

Abstract Transient hydrogen diffusion and hydride formation coupled with material deformation are studied in Zr-2.5Nb alloys used in the pressure tubes of CANDU nuclear generating stations. The energetics of the hydride formation is revisited and the terminal solid solubility of hydrogen in solution is defined on the basis of the total elastoplastic work done on the system by the forming hydride and the external loads. Probabilistic precipitation of hydride is modeled in the neighborhood of a crack tip under mode I plane strain loading and a uniform initial hydrogen concentration below the stress free terminal solid More >