DIFFUSION IN Zr-BASED ALLOYS: LIBS MEASUREMENTS OF Sn DIFFUSION IN Zr-ALPHA AND DICTRA SIMULATIONS OF O DIFFUSION IN Zr-BASED ALLOYS

C. CORVALÁN, C ARARAT, N DI LALLA, M.IRIBARREN

Berkeley

Exposici�n; CALPHAD XLI; 2012

The Zr-based alloys are used  in the nuclear industry. Particularly in the cladding tubes for light (like PWR) and heavy (like CANDU) water  reactors. These alloys  have special features like: resistance to corrosion, appropriate mechanic proprieties, resistance to radiation damage and low capture effective cross section for thermal neutrons. LIBS (Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) is a tool to evaluation, quantitative and qualitatively, the element compositions. Measurements can be performed directly on the sample surface and the analysis is possibly on a solid, liquid or gas surface. In the present work, for the experimental framework, the results of the calibration curves for LIBS measurements are showed for Sn in Zr alpha.  Then the diffusion of Sn in Zr-alpha was measured by LIBS technique in the temperature range [400-700]ºC. In the simulation framework, the possibility of taking into account a finite size system, more representative of the wall of the cladding tubes, has been evaluated with DICTRA software for O diffusion in Zr-based alloys.