Development of cold spray chromium coatings for improved accident tolerant zirconium-alloy cladding

The development of a cold spray process for the deposition of chromium (Cr) coatings on zirconium-alloys is presented with the goal of improving the accident tolerance of light water reactor (LWR) fuel cladding tubes. The cold spray parameters and feedstock powders were varied to attain the desired coating properties such as thickness, microstructure, and oxidation resistance, on both Zircaloy-4 flat specimens and Optimized ZIRLO™ cladding tubes. The coated samples were tested at temperatures up to 1300 °C in air to investigate the oxidation performance and inter-diffusion between the Cr coatings and the underlying zirconium-alloy substrate. To simulate the performance of the coatings under normal LWR operating conditions, the coated samples were also tested in a steam autoclave at 400 °C and 10.3 MPa. Microstructures, phases, and hardnesses of the feedstock powders and as-deposited coatings were examined, and oxidation and inter-diffusion profiles were quantified in post-oxidation test samples. Overall, cold sprayed Cr coatings show significant promise for enhancing the accident tolerance of zirconium-alloy fuel cladding in LWRs both in terms of performance and cost-effective manufacturability.