The effect of heavy ion irradiation on the stability of oxide phase of autoclaved Zircaloy 4 fuel tube material, has been studied using Glancing angle X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) technique after 306 KeV Ar⁺⁹ ions irradiation at a dose of 3 × 10¹⁹ Ar⁺⁹/m². To estimate the extent of damage, a simulation was carried out using “Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter (SRIM-2008)” computer program based on the Monte Carlo method. For the first time, the oxide formed in ₀n¹ irradiated fuel tube after 7600 MWD/T burn up in Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) has been characterized using GIXRD technique. The advantage of this technique is that the stress-induced phase transformation, which normally occurs during metallographic sample preparation for optical and electron microscopy, is eliminated. The un-irradiated autoclaved oxide in the steam environment (415 °C and 500 °C), both uniform as well as nodular oxide has been characterized using GIXRD, X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) attached with Energy Dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy has been carried out in uniform oxide before and after heavy ion irradiation. It is observed that heavy ion and neutron irradiation induce monoclinic to tetragonal phase transformation in the oxide. Presence of significant fraction of tetragonal ZrO₂ phase as well as sub-oxide Zr₃O has been identified in the oxide layer near oxide-coolant interface in ₀n¹ irradiated in-pile sample whereas in unirradiated autoclaved oxide these phases are present in a small fraction near the oxide-metal interface. XPS analysis indicates the difference in the chemical state of alloying element in the oxide when autoclaving is carried out at different temperatures.

在306 KeV Ar ⁺⁹离子辐照剂量为3×10 ^19的条件下，使用掠过角X射线衍射（GIXRD）技术研究了重离子辐照对高压灭菌Zircaloy 4燃料管材料氧化物相稳定性的影响。Ar ⁺⁹ / m ²。为了估计损坏的程度，使用了基于蒙特卡洛方法的“物质中离子的浓度和范围（SRIM-2008）”计算机程序进行了仿真。第一次在₀ n ^1中形成氧化物使用GIXRD技术对7600 MWD / T在加压重水反应堆（PHWR）中燃烧后的辐照燃料管进行了表征。该技术的优点是消除了通常在光学和电子显微镜的金相样品制备过程中发生的应力引起的相变。已使用GIXRD，X射线光电子能谱（XPS），扫描电子显微镜（SEM）对蒸汽环境（415°C和500°C）中未辐照的高压灭菌氧化物（均一和球状氧化物）进行了表征附有能量色散光谱仪（EDS）。在重离子辐照之前和之后，在均匀的氧化物中进行了截面透射电子显微镜。观察到重离子和中子辐照在氧化物中引起单斜相向四方相的转变。存在大量的四方ZrO在₀ n ¹辐照堆中样品的氧化物-冷却剂界面附近的氧化物层中鉴定出₂相以及次氧化物Zr ₃ O，而在未辐照高压灭菌的氧化物中，这些相以小部分形式存在于氧化物-金属附近界面。XPS分析表明，在不同温度下进行高压灭菌时，氧化物中合金元素的化学状态有所不同。