Research Progress on Fretting Wear Behavior of Fuel Cladding Materials in Nuclear Reactor

Fretting wear failure of cladding is the main cause of fuel failure of pressurized water reactor in the world, thus understanding the fretting wear behavior of fuel cladding in nuclear reactor is very important to the safe operation of nuclear reactor. The zirconium alloy cladding used in the primary circuit of nuclear fission reactor not only bears the erosion of high temperature and high pressure coolant, but also faces the harsh environment such as corrosion, strong irradiation. This paper summarizes the influence of service environment on fretting wear behavior of cladding from the aspects of mechanical factors, hydraulic conditions, irradiation and corrosion, and expounds the research progress of accident-tolerant zirconium alloy cladding coating material and its influence on fretting wear between grid to rod fretting in the future. Finally, the future research direction of fretting wear and corrosion wear of nuclear reactor cladding is prospected.