Argonne National Laboratory Reports

The uniaxial stress-strain behavior of Zircaloy-2 and -4, Zircaloy-oxygen alloys with a uniform oxygen distribution, and composite specimens with a ZrO2/alpha/beta layer structure was investigated over the range of experimental conditions: temperature 25-1400 degrees C; strain rate ; oxygen content 0.11 - 4.4 wt %; grain size 5-50 micrometers; texture longitudinal, transverse, and diagonal orientations; and microstructural state, which consists of the equiaxed alpha phase and various transformed beta acicular structures. The work-hardening and strain-rate sensitivity parameters were determined from the experimental results, and the tensile properties were correlated with oxygen concentration, oxygen distribution in the material, and microstructure. Dynamic strain-aging phenomena were observed in Zircaloy at 200, 400, and 700 degrees C, and super-plastic deformation occurred at 850 and 1000 degrees C. An increase in the oxygen concentration in homogeneous Zircaloy-oxygen alloys increased the ultimate tensile strength and decreased the total strain, particularly below approximately 900/sup 0/C. In composite specimens with the ZrO2/alpha/beta structure, the total oxygen content had little effect on the ultimate tensile strength below approximately 1000 degrees C, but the strength increased with oxygen content at higher temperatures. Information on the effects of grain size, oxygen content, texture, and strain rate on the stress-strain behavior suggests that the dominant mechanism of super-plastic deformation in Zircaloy near approximately 850/sup 0/C is grain-boundary sliding at the alpha-beta interface with accommodation by diffusional creep, dislocation slip, and grain-boundary migration. Good correlation was obtained between ductility and values of the strain-rate sensitivity parameter