Sputter deposition

Engineering

Compatibility (geochemistry)

Metallurgy

Materials science

Coating

Ceramic

Chemical engineering

Nanotechnology

Cladding (metalworking)

Alloy

Thin film

Composite material

Sputtering

Journal of Material Science and Technology

Accident tolerant fuel (ATF) for the light water reactor has gained wide attentions after the Fukushima accident. To enhance the accident-tolerance of the nuclear system, one strategy is to modify the Zr-based alloy cladding surface with advanced ceramic coating. In this work, monolithic and dense Cr2AlC coating has been synthesized by magnetron sputtering. The as-grown Cr2AlC coating exhibits good chemical compatibility with Zr-based alloy substrate as well as mechanical integrity under both pull-off and scratch tests. The coating system also presents moderate thermochemical compatibility at 800 °C but degrades above 1000 °C under simulated loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) conditions.

On the chemical compatibility between Zr-4 substrate and well-bonded Cr2AlC coating