Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Kraftwerk Union Aktiengesellschaft

Hans Weidinger

Eckard Steinberg

Friedrich Garzarolli

Heinz Stehle

Erhard Ortlieb

A fuel rod for a nuclear reactor fuel assembly includes a cladding tube having an outer surface and a given total wall thickness. Nuclear fuel is disposed in the cladding tube. The cladding tube is formed of a first zirconium alloy which may have alloy components of from 1.2 to 2% by weight of tin, 0.07 to 0.2% by weight of iron, 0.05 to 0.15% by weight of chromium, 0.03 to 0.08% by weight of nickel, 0.07 to 0.15% by weight of oxygen, and a total percent by weight for the alloy components of iron, chromium and nickel in a range of from 0.18 to 0.38% by weight. The first zirconium alloy may also have alloy components of from 1.2 to 2% by weight of tin, 0.18 to 0.24% by weight of iron, 0.07 to 0.13% by weight of chromium, 0.10 to 0.16% by weight of oxygen, and a total percentage by weight for the components of iron and chromium in a range of from 0.28 to 0.37% by weight. A surface layer which is disposed on the outer surface of the cladding tube is formed of a second zirconium alloy having a layer thickness in a range of from 5 to 20% of the given total wall thickness of the cladding tube, the second zirconium alloy being formed of at least one alloy component from the group consisting of iron, chromium, nickel and tin having a total percentage by weight of the alloy components of the group of from 0.4 to 1% by weight and/or having from 0.2 to 3% by weight of niobium as an alloy component.

Fuel rod for a nuclear reactor fuel assembly

A nuclear reactor fuel assembly includes a fuel rod containing nuclear fuel in a cladding tube formed of an iron-containing zirconium alloy. A fuel assembly skeleton to which the fuel rod is attached has a structural part formed of the iron-containing zirconium alloy. The iron-containing zirconium alloy has an oxygen content of from 0.1 to 0.16% by weight and contains alloy components of from 0 to 1% by weight of niobium, 0 to 0.8% by weight of tin, at least two metals from the group consisting of iron, chromium and vanadium having from 0.2 to 0.8% by weight of iron, 0 to 0.4% by weight of chromium and 0 to 0.3% by weight of vanadium, a total percent by weight of iron, chromium and vanadium of from 0.25 to 1% by weight, and a total percent by weight for niobium and tin in the range from 0 to 1% by weight.

Nuclear reactor fuel assembly

Fuel rod cladding tube having an inner tubular layer of a zirconium alloy with alloying components of 1.2 to 1.7% tin, 0.07 to 0.2% iron, 0.05 to 0.15% chromium, 0.03 to 0.08% nickel, 0.07 to 0.15% oxygen, with the sum of percentages of iron, chromium and nickel in the range of 0.18 to 0.38%; or with the alloying components 1.2 to 1.7% tin, 0.18 to 0.24% iron, 0.07 to 0.13% chromium, 0.10 to 0.16% oxygen, with the sum of percentages of iron and chromium in the range of 0.28 to 0.37%; and with the inner tubular layer having an outside surface layer of another zirconium alloy with a layer thickness of 5 to 20% of the cladding tube as well as with 0 to 1% iron as an alloying component and with at least one alloying component from the group of: vanadium with 0.1 to 1% by weight, platinum with 0.1 to 1% by weight, and copper with 1 to 3% by weight.

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Nuremberg, Germany

Hans Weidinger