As the zircaloy cladding absorbs an excessive amount of hydrogen and cooled down under hoop stress, radial hydride may be precipitated by hydride reorientation phenomenon. There have been many previous studies about the threshold stress of the reorientation, but it is known that the quantitative degree of hydride reorientation rather than the threshold is important for the prediction of mechanical properties. A thermodynamic model for Radial Hydride Fraction (RHF) prediction has been developed in this study. The model calculates RHF with respect to temperature, cooling rate, hydrogen content, and applied stresses. Once the cooling rate is given, the solid solution concentration at each temperature is determined by Hydrogen-Nucleation-Growth-Dissolution model. Subsequently, the increment of radial hydride is derived by nucleation and growth theory. The code based on the thermodynamic theory can provide the prediction of RHF under hoop stress, as well as a change in precipitation behavior over time. RHF of the zircaloy cladding in long-term dry storage can be obtained by the implementation of the code and the degradation of the cladding is directly estimated according to the correlation between RHF and mechanical properties. Ongoing experimental validation of the developed model is discussed.

Hydride reorientation is one of the major concerns for cladding integrity during dry storage. In this study, mechanical property of post-reorientation cladding was investigated according to the morphology and amount of the hydrides. Cladding peak temperature limit 400°C was suggested by U.S. NRC in concern of cladding creep and hydride reorientation. In line with this regulatory limit, hydride reorientation was conducted during cool-down process from the maximum temperature of 400°C, using constant internal pressurization method. The specimens were charged for hydrogen from 100 to 1,000 wppm, and various pressures range of 7.5-18.5 MPa were applied. The morphology was examined by optical microscopy. Radial hydride fraction (RHF) and radial hydride continuous path (RHCP) were calculated using image analysis software PROPHET. Finally, strain energy density (SED) was investigated via ring compress tests and the hydrogen concentration was analyzed. The result shows that when RHF is higher than 5%, SED exponentially decreases with RHF. For RHF less than 5%, SED was primarily affected by the total amount of hydrogen. Shortened length of radial hydrides with the presence of circumferential hydrides may block the radial propagation of crack. The result implies that lower burnup spent fuel with lower hydrogen concentration may be more vulnerable in terms of radial hydride compared to higher burnup fuel.