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Effect of Bias Voltage on the Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, and High-Temperature Steam Oxidation Behavior of Cr Coatings Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering on Zircaloy-4 Alloy

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Abstract

This study investigated the effect of bias voltage on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and high-temperature steam oxidation behavior of the Cr coatings on the Zircaloy-4 alloy. By changing the bias voltage (0, − 50, − 100, − 150 V), Cr coatings with different orientations, including (110), (200), and (211), were obtained. Among these different samples, the Cr coating deposited at − 50 V exhibited a highly (211) preferred orientation, the lowest surface roughness, the highest deposition rate, and the best mechanical properties. Furthermore, after steam oxidation at 1200 °C for 30 min, the Cr coating with a (211) preferred orientation demonstrated superior oxidation resistance compared to those with (110) and (100) preferred orientations. This research is expected to provide new guidance for optimizing the structural design of Cr-coated nuclear fuel cladding, thereby extending accident tolerance.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Joint Funds for Regional Innovation Development of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. U20A20232), the Chongqing Yingcai Plan Project (cstc2021ycjh-bgzxm0176, cstc2021ycjh-bgzxm0174), and the Scientific and Technological Research Program of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission (KJQN202101316, KJQN201901340).

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  1. Pengzhou Zhu and Haibo Ruan have contributed equally to this work and should be considered co-first authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Pengzhou Zhu & Weijiu Huang

  2. College of Materials and Engineering, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing, 402160, China

    Haibo Ruan, Weijiu Huang, Tengfei Zhang & Yongyao Su

  3. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University of Technology, Chongqing, 400054, China

    Yi Ning, Xiangkong Xu, Meng Xu, Shangyi Yin & Junjun Wang

  4. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650093, China

    Haiyan Liao

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  1. Pengzhou Zhu
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Zhu, P., Ruan, H., Huang, W. et al. Effect of Bias Voltage on the Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, and High-Temperature Steam Oxidation Behavior of Cr Coatings Prepared by Magnetron Sputtering on Zircaloy-4 Alloy. J. of Materi Eng and Perform (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-023-08554-5

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