The Properties of Quadruple Melted Zr-2.5Nb Pressure Tubes

Abstract

Chlorine is one of the impurities present in Zr material produced by the Kroll process and tests have shown that it has a detrimental effect on the fracture toughness of Zr-2.5Nb. It has also been shown that pressure tubes made from multiple melted Zr-2.5Nb ingots have superior fracture toughness properties when compared with those produced from double melted (DM) material. Quadruple melting (QM) has been used for Zr-2.5Nb material produced by the Kroll process and the fracture toughness benefit has been obtained. The paper reviews the properties of pressure tubes made from QM ingots and shows that the other properties are not affected by the use of QM or DM for the ingots.