The Present Status and the Projected Programme of Zirconium Development in India

The nuclear power industry continues to be the major consumer of zirconium metal production in the world to-day. On the basis of neutron economy, corrosion resist-ance, and mechanical strength, zirconium alloys have been the ideal choice for the fuel-cladding and other core components in water-cooled nuclear power systems. In the United States alone, the current annual requirements of zircaloy tubing for nuclear fuel cladding has been placed at 250 tons, which will grow to 600 tons by 1970 and 1000 tons by 1974. In India, for the 1200MW(e) nuclear progr-amme envisaged for the IV Plan period zircaloy tube requi-rements have been estimated at 50 tons per year and will increase to 75 tons per year and will increase to 75 tons and more during the V Plan period