Fig. 1

Weight gain curves of Zr-Nb series zirconium alloys under different corrosion conditions[4,9,11]"

Fig. 2

Oxidation characteristics of the $\beta $-Nb precipitate at the distance of 0.77 $\mu $m to the O/M interface in the oxide film on Zr-1.0Nb-0.3Bi alloy corroded in deionized water at 360 ${^\circ}$C/ 18.6 MPa for 200 d exposure[11]"

Fig. 3

Oxidation characteristics of $\beta $-Nb precipitate at the distance of 2.4 $\mu $m to the O/M interface in the oxide film on Zr-1.0Nb-0.3Bi alloy corroded in deionized water at 360 ${^\circ}$C/18.6 MPa for 200 d exposure[11]"

Fig. 4

Oxidation characteristics of $\beta $-Nb precipitate at the O/M interface in the oxide film on Zr-1.0Nb-0.2Bi alloy corroded in lithiated water with 0.01 mol/L LiOH at 360 ${^\circ}$C/18.6 MPa for 14 d exposure[9]"

Fig. 5

Oxidation characteristics of $\beta $-Nb precipitate at the distance of 0.28 $\mu $m to the O/M interface in the oxide film on Zr-1.0Nb-0.2Bi alloy corroded in lithiated water with 0.01 mol/L LiOH at 360 ${^\circ}$C/18.6 MPa for 14 d exposure[9]"

Fig. 6

Microstructure of the oxide film on the $\beta $-Nb (90Nb-10Zr) second phase alloy corroded in deionized water at 360 ${^\circ}$C/18.6 MPa for 11 d exposure[21-22]"

Fig. 7

Microstructure of the oxide film on the $\beta $-Nb (90Nb-10Zr) second phase alloy corroded in lithiated water with 0.01 mol/L LiOH at 360 ${^\circ}$C/18.6 MPa for 11 d exposure[21-22]"

Table 1

Oxidation results of $\beta $-Nb (90Nb-10Zr) second phase alloy under different corrosion conditions[21-23]"

Fig. 8

Diagrammatic sketch about accelerated corrosion mechanism of Zr-Nb series zirconium alloys in lithiated water with LiOH"