The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 23, 1999
Filed:
Mar. 30, 1998
Dale Frederick Taylor, Schenectady, NY (US);
General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US);
Abstract
A method for determining the susceptibility of a sample of Zircaloy alloy to nodular corrosion. A specimen of such Zircaloy sample is annealed at a temperature within a temperature range bounded at its upper limit by the temperature T.sub.c being the temperature at equilibrium wherein sufficient solute would exist in the (.alpha.-matrix of the particular zircaloy to resist nodular corrosion, and bounded by a lower temperature, such temperature being the temperature of the (.alpha.+precipitate)/(.alpha.+.beta.+precipitate) transus for the particular Zircaloy sample. For Zircaloy-2, such temperature range is from approximately 825.degree. C. to 841.degree. C. The specimen is maintained at such selected temperature within such temperature range for a measured period, and subsequently exposed to steam at a fixed temperature and pressure for a fixed time. If nodular corrosion does not appear the above steps are repeated, but on each different specimen increasing the measured time period until a last measured time period is obtained when nodular corrosion first appears on a specimen. The length of the last measured time period is used as an indicator of the sample's resistance to nodular corrosion, and thus conversely its susceptibility to nodular corrosion.