In situ measurement of electrical conductivity of Zircaloy oxides and their formation mechanism under electron irradiation

Insitu electrical conductivity of Zircaloy-2, improved Zircaloy-2 and Zircaloy-4 oxide films has been measured with 1 MeV electron irradiation using gold, copper and zirconium electrodes during beam-on and -off in the temperature range of 296–680 K in order to find the rate controlling factor of oxidation of the alloy. Current–voltage characteristics of all oxides during irradiation show almost ohmic behavior for Zircaloy-2 and Zircaloy-4 …