Effect of alloying elements on recovery and damage rates in zirconium

Abstract Pure Zr and Zr-X (where X = Cr, Fe, Ce and Sn ) alloys have been irradiated to a fast neutron fluence of 1.8 × 10 22 nm −2 at 4.6 K. The radiation induced resistivity has been measured in situ as a function of dose. It was observed that compared to pure zirconium the radiation induced resistivity and hence the initial damage accumulation rate increases in the Zr-Sn alloy whereas it was practically unchanged by the other alloy elements. The irradiated samples were also subjected to isochronal annealing in the temperature range of 20–400 K and different annealing stages in pure zirconium and its alloys were studied. It was concluded that tin acts as a good trap for interstitials in stage I and for vacancies in stage III.