Thermomechanical Microstructural Predictions of Fracture Nucleation of Zircaloy-4 Alloys with δ and ε Hydride Distributions

A crystalline dislocation-density formulation that was incorporated with a non-linear finite-element (FE) method was utilized to understand and to predict the thermo-mechanical behavior of an hexagonal closest packed (h.c.p.) zircaloy system with hydrides with either face centered cubic (f.c.c.) or body centered cubic (b.c.c.) hydrides. This formulation was then used with a recently developed fracture methodology that is adapted for finite inelastic strains and multiphase crystalline systems to understand how different microstructurally-based fracture modes nucleate and propagate. The interrelated microstructural characteristics of the different crystalline hydride and matrix phases with the necessary orientation relationships (ORs) have been represented, such that a detailed physical understanding of fracture nucleation and propagation can be predicted for the simultaneous thermo-mechanical failure modes of hydride populations and the matrix. The effects of volume fraction, morphology, crystalline structure, and orientation and distribution of the hydrides on simultaneous and multiple fracture modes were investigated for radial, circumferential, and mixed distributions. Another key aspect was accounting for temperatures changes due to the effects of thermal conduction and dissipated plastic work and their collective effects on fracture. For hydrided aggregates subjected to high temperatures, thermal softening resulted in higher ductility due to increased dislocation-density activity, which led to higher shear strain accumulation and inhibited crack nucleation and growth. The predictions provide validated insights of why circumferential hydrides are more fracture resistant than radial hydrides for different volume fractions and thermo-mechanical loading conditions.