Effect of Crystallographic Texture on Hydride Orientation in Zr-(1%)Nb Fuel Clad

In this paper, the effect of crystallographic texture on hydride orientation in the inner and outer layers of Zr-(1%)Nb clad was investigated. (0002) pole figures were measured by transmission and reflection X-ray diffraction method. Volume fraction, Vr of grains having their basal poles in a specified orientation region with respect to the radial direction and effective fraction of basal poles aligned with a circumferential direction, fr, were calculated from the data pole figures. The results of the analyses showed that there was a texture gradient in the clad thickness from the inner to the outer layers. fr and Vr(φ:0-30°( had inverse relationship to hydride fraction (F). In the inner layer fr, Vr(φ:0-30°( and F were 0.53, 0.57 and 0.25, respectively. In the outer layer, those were shown to be 0.41, 0.33 and 0.61, respectively.