Formation and stability of oxide layer in FeCrAl fuel cladding material under high-temperature steam

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/j.jallcom.2016.05.145

The high-temperature steam oxidation (HTSO) experiment of FeCrAl alloy was carried out at 1000 °C and 1200 °C by simultaneous thermal analyzer. The oxidation kinetics curves and characteristics of generated oxide layer were analyzed. The results show FeCrAl alloy exhibits remarkable HTSO resistance with an oxidation constant (k_p) over three orders of magnitude lower than that of zirconium alloy. By XRD and XPS, the oxide layer consists of FeO and Al₂O₃ and a little Fe₂O₃ and Cr₂O₃ at 1000 °C. When steam oxidized at 1200 °C, there is only Al₂O₃ on the surface with the volatilization of CrO₃. The micromorphology shows the generated oxide layer at 1200 °C is thicker than that at 1000 °C due to the accelerated growth of Al₂O₃ at high temperature. The oxide layer at 1200 °C presents distinct folds and peeling because of cyclic thermal stress, oxidation of chromium matrix, reduction of oxide adhesion and the gap crack between oxide layers.

Full text of DOI:10.1016/j.jallcom.2016.05.145

Accepted Manuscript
Formation and stability of oxide layer in FeCrAl fuel cladding material under high-
temperature steam
Dong Pan, Ruiqian Zhang, Hui Wang, Chao Lu, Yunming Liu
PII:
S0925-8388(16)31478-5
10.1016/j.jallcom.2016.05.145
JALCOM 37665
DOI:
Reference:
To appear in: Journal of Alloys and Compounds
Received Date: 12 April 2016
Revised Date: 12 May 2016
Accepted Date: 14 May 2016
Please cite this article as: D. Pan, R. Zhang, H. Wang, C. Lu, Y. Liu, Formation and stability of oxide
layer in FeCrAl fuel cladding material under high-temperature steam, Journal of Alloys and Compounds
(2016), doi: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2016.05.145.
This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to
our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo
copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please
note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all
legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Formation and stability of oxide layer in FeCrAl fuel
cladding material under high-temperature steam
a
a
a,b
c
a
Dong Pan , Ruiqian Zhang , Hui Wang
*, Chao Lu *, Yunming Liu
a
National Key Laboratory for Nuclear Fuel and Materials, Nuclear Power
Institute of China, Chengdu, 610041, China
b
Science and Technology on Surface Physics and Chemistry Laboratory,
P.O.Box No. 9-35, Huafengxincun, Jiangyou city, Sichuan Province,
6
21908, P.R.China
c
Chengdu Polytechnic, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 02885903294, Fax: +86 02885903294
E-mail: yinchanggeng5525@163.com (H. Wang).

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Abstract: The high-temperature steam oxidation(HTSO) experiment of
FeCrAl alloy was carried out at 1000℃ and 1200℃ by simultaneous
thermal analyzer. The oxidation kinetics curves and characteristics of
generated oxide layer were analyzed. The results show FeCrAl alloy
exhibits remarkable HTSO resistance with an oxidation constant (k ) over
p
three orders of magnitude lower than that of zirconium alloy. By XRD
and XPS, the oxide layer consists of FeO and Al O and a little Fe O and
2
3
2
3
Cr O at 1000℃. When steam oxidized at 1200℃, there is only Al O on
2
3
2
3
the surface with the volatilization of CrO . The micromorphology shows
3
the generated oxide layer at 1200 ℃ is thicker than that at 1000℃ due to
the accelerated growth of Al O at high temperature. The oxide layer at
2
3
1
200 ℃ presents distinct folds and peeling because of cyclic thermal
stress, oxidation of chromium matrix, reduction of oxide adhesion and the
gap crack between oxide layers.
Keyword: FeCrAl Alloy; Al O ; high-temperature steam oxidation; oxide
2
3
layer; nuclear fuel element
1
. Introduction
Nuclear fuel elements, the core components of a nuclear reactor, are
mainly comprised of cladding materials and nuclear fuel cores. The
lifespan and safe reliability of nuclear fuel elements are significantly
determined by the performance of cladding materials [1-2]. It is well

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
known that the disastrous Japan nuclear leakage in 2011 was caused by
the brittle fracture of fuel claddings resulting from the loop water loss[3].
From then on, cladding materials for good accident tolerant fuel have
been regarded as important research topics, which include the
exploitation of advanced coating technology and novel cladding
materials.
FeCrAl-based alloy have been widely used in many industrial fields
due to their excellent high-temperature oxidation resistance [4]. Extensive
high-temperature oxidation and mechanical experiments for commercial
alloy conducted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory suggest that FeCrAl
alloy are potential anti-accident cladding materials [5-8]. The FeCrAl
alloy exhibits anti-oxidative capacity under high temperatures by virtue
of the rapidly generated Al O passivation layer with the aid of the “third
2
3
element effect” of Cr [9, 10] and the “selective oxidation” of Al [11] at
the early stage of steam oxidation. However, in order to guarantee the
high-temperature oxidation resistance, the chromium and aluminum
contents in traditional FeCrAl alloy are required to reach up to 20% and
1
0% [12], respectively, which, to some extent, aggravates the irradiation
hardening of alloy and greatly reduces the processability [13], restraining
the widespread application of high-Cr and high-Al FeCrAl alloy in
nuclear reactors.
In this study, the chromium and aluminum contents for traditional

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
FeCrAl alloy are adjusted to a lower level based on ensuring that the
alloy can not only reserve prominent high-temperature oxidation
resistance but also improved reactor stability and processability. The
performances of high-temperature steam oxidation resistance for the
modified FeCrAl alloy at 1000℃ and 1200℃ were investigated. The
formation mechanism and stability of oxide layers were analyzed in
details. The results are expected to supply conducive technological
guidance and theoretical basis for the study of advanced anti-accident
cladding materials used as nuclear fuel elements.
2
. Experiment
The composition of FeCrAl alloy is shown in Table 1. Specimens of
FeCrAl alloy for oxidation, which were hot-rolled, were cut into slices
with dimension of 10×10×1 mm and a pore with a diameter of 2 mm in
the corner of slice by hot-rolling (Fig.1). The HTSO experiment was
conducted in a simultaneous thermal analyzer (Setsys Evo, Setaram,
France) equipped with a steam generator (Wstsys). After the specimens
were fixed, the system was pre-heated at 70℃ and was simultaneously
filled with hybrid steam of H O and Ar (Rh=70%). The reaction furnace
2
was then heated at a rate of 10 K·min-1 and the temperature of specimens
was real time measured by B-type thermocouples. The specimens in two
groups were respectively heated up to 1000℃ and 1200℃ for 4h. The

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
weights of specimens were real time recorded by a photoelectric balance
with a precision of 0.1 ꢀg. The grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction
analysis for oxide layer was performed on a PANalytical diffractometer at
an incidence angle of 1.5° within a scanning range from 15° to 90°. X-ray
photoelectron spectroscope (XPS, XSAM800) was used to determine the
chemical valence state of oxide layer. The morphologies of oxide layer
were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM, Hitachi S4800),
which was equipped with energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) for the
semi-quantitative elements analysis. The oxide alloy layer was observed
by laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM, Olympus-LEXT).
Fig.1 Microstructures of specimens :(a) microstructure of FeCrAl alloy-typical
running water hot rolling state; (b) scanning electron photograph of FeCrAl alloy, in
which the elliptical second phase particle is Laves phase Fe2Nb based on EDS
analysis.
Table 1 Composition analysis of FeCrAl alloy (wt. %)
Fe
Cr
Al
Mo
Nb
C
N
Bal
13.09
4.33
2.27
1.04
0.004
0.0036

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
3
. Results and discussion
3
.1Weight increase after steam oxidation
Fig. 2 shows the oxidation kinetics of FeCrAl alloy under HTSO at
1
000℃ and 1200℃, respectively. The oxidation kinetics of
Zr-4(Zr-1.5Sn-0.3Fe) under HTSO at 1000 ℃ is shown in Fig.2 as a
reference. FeCrAl alloy has better HTSO resistance than Zr-4 alloy.
According to Wagner’s theory of oxidation [14], the oxidation process of
FeCrAl alloy and Zr-4 alloy fit with parabolic law when diffusion of ions
and electrons through oxide layer are the rate determining step of
oxidation process. The weight gain of oxidation (W) and oxidation time (t)
can be expressed as follows:
(1)
2
-4 -1
where k (g ·cm ·s ) is the parabolic rate constraint of oxidation
p
process, demonstrating the oxidation rate of alloy.

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Fig. 2 The oxidation kinetics of FeCrAl alloy and Zr-4 alloy
Here, the values of k are obtained by linear fitting the curves in Fig.
p
1
according to Equation (1), as shown in Table 2. By comparison, we can
see that the parabolic rate constraint of FeCrAl alloy at 1000 ℃ is three
orders of magnitude lower than that of Zr-4 alloy. Good oxidation
resistance of FeCrAl alloy can be attributed to the formation of α-Al O3
2
layer, which is thermostable and reduces the diffusion rate of ions and
electrons through oxide layer and keeps the oxidation rate at a low value.
When the oxidation temperature rises up to 1200℃, the parabolic rate
constraint (k ) accordingly increases due to the diffusion flux of Al ions
p
increasing. C. Badini thinks the growth mechanism of the oxide film of
FeCrAl is different at different temperatures. At 900 ℃ the main diffusion
mode for oxidation is the diffusion of Al ions, while at 1200 ℃the main
diffusion mode for oxidation is that of O ions. It is obvious that the

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
diffusion rate of O ion is higher below 1200 ℃, so k is higher. [15]
p
Table 2 The parabolic rate constraint of specimens alloy
2
-4 -1
Specimens
FeCrAl alloy
FeCrAl alloy
Zr-4 alloy
Temperature(℃)
1000
Time（h）
k （g ·cm ·s ）
p
4
4
4
9.77E-13
2.01E-11
1.33E-10
1200
1000
3
.2The composition of oxide layer
Fig. 3 shows the grazing-incidence XRD patterns of specimens
steam-oxidized at 1000 ℃ and 1200 ℃. It is seen that the phases of oxide
layer formed at 1000℃ were FeO(ICSD#49-1447) and α-
Al O (ICSD#73-2294), while those at 1200℃ were mainly α- Al O and
2
3
2
3
FeAl (ICSD#45-1203) solid solutions. At the early stage of oxidation
3
[
16, 17], the initial products such as iron oxides (FeO, Fe O , Fe O ) and
2
3
3
4
Cr O grew up at the interface of gas/matrix with at a high rate. With the
2
3
increase of temperature, Cr O layer was formed between matrix and
2
3
initial layer, which reduced the diffusion flux of oxygen ions and the
concentration of aluminum ions. Benefiting from the “third element
effect” of Cr [18], the critical concentration to α-Al O layer formed at
2
3
the interface of Cr O -layer/matrix. Because α-Al O layer was passive
2
3
2
3
and thermostable, oxidation rate decreased seriously and occurred as
α-Al O instead of iron or chromium oxides.
2
3

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
At high temperature, the oxides of iron and chromium react with the
high-temperature steam to generate volatile hydroxides and thus peel off
from alloy surface [19]. Additionally, the AlFe solid solutions are formed
3
due to the external diffusion of Al atoms by exchanging with Fe atoms as
well as the defects in the ferrite [20].
Fig.3 Grazing-incidence XRD patterns of FeCrAl alloy after steam oxidation at
1
000 ℃ and 1200 ℃
It is well known that XRD technology is not suitable for the
characterization of surface layer. In order to investigate the initial product,
XPS technology is used to determine the element valence state of oxide
layer. The results are shown in Fig. 4 and 5. On the surface layer of
FeCrAl alloy there are Fe O , Cr O and FeCr O , which are not found in
2
3
2
3
2
4
the XRD patterns. Fe O and Cr O are oxidation products generated at
2
3
2
3
low temperatures at the early stage of the oxidation of alloy. FeCr O is
2
4

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
one of the oxidation products of FeCr-base alloy at high temperatures.
The oxidation products are formed on gas/scale interface as early as the
start of the oxidation. But because of their poor adhesion with matrix or
easy formation of volatile hydroxide, oxidation consumption continues in
the process of oxidation, which does not affect the oxidation resistance of
the alloy.
After the comparison of Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, Cr elements on the surface
of the oxidation layer are consumed badly after oxidation at 1200 ℃ for
4
h (No Cr2p peak can be clearly observed in XPS score), suggesting that
Cr O becomes unstable at 1200 ℃ . Earlier studies on Fe-Cr alloy have
2
3
found that stable Cr O generated CrO (g) when the temperature is above
2
3
3
1
000 ℃ , which leads to increasing oxidation by Equation (2) [19].
Cr O (s)+3O (g)=4CrO (g) (2)
2
2
3
2
3

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Fig. 4 X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectrum of FeCrAl alloy after HTSO at
1
000 ℃ . (a) spectrum of Fe2p,(b) spectrum of Al2p, (c) spectrum of O1s and (d)
spectrum of Cr2p3/2.
Fig. 5 X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectrums of FeCrAl alloy after HTSO at
200℃ . (a) Spectra of Fe2p and Cr2p peaks disappear. FeCr O is formed with a
1
2
4
spinel structure after a small number of Cr atoms replace Fe atoms in Fe3O4; (b)
spectrum of Al2p; (c) spectrum of O1s

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
3
.3Thermal stability of oxide layer
Fig. 6 shows the morphology of specimens steam-oxidized at 1000 ℃
and 1200 ℃ . It can be seen that FeCrAl alloy oxidized at 1000 ℃ (Fig. 6a)
still displays some polishing marks that develop before oxidation,
suggesting that the oxide layer is thin enough and the inner oxidation
occurs merely.
The dark points show a size of about 1ꢀm, similar to the particle size
of Fe Nb. However, on the surface of FeCrAl alloy oxidized at 1200 ℃
2
(Fig. 6b), the initial polishing marks are vanished with only some dark
points and white points left. According to the XRD results, the phase of
oxide layer at 1200℃ is α-Al O .
2
3

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Fig. 6 OM images of specimens after HTSO at (a) 1000 ℃ ; and (b) 1200 ℃ SEM
images of specimens after HTSO at 1200℃; (c) Round white dots in OM are
circular corrosion pits formed after oxide film flakes; (d) After the magnification of
corrosion pits, it is found that the oxide films around the circular corrosion pits peel
off layer by layer, which might be a warp gap between two layers of oxide film. The
spalling of the whole round Al O piece caused the outer Al O spalling on the
2
3
2
3
boundary; (e)The morphology of the most outer layer of α-Al O ; (f) The matrix
2
3

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
morphology is clear in the position where oxide film peel off, totally different from
the outer Al O ; (e) and (f) are processed with energy-spectrum scanning and the
2
3
results are listed in Table 4.
FeCrAl alloy oxidized at 1000 ℃ and 1200 ℃ show obvious
differences in parabola constant and oxide on surface layer. At a higher
temperature (1200 ℃), the diffusion rate of FeCrAl oxide film is higher
and more reactions occur on the surface of oxidation film, causing the
morphology of oxidation film is different from that at a lower
temperature (1000 ℃). After oxidation of FeCrAl alloy at 1000 ℃ for 4 h,
the oxide film is uniform without falling off or folding observed, which is
closer to the morphology of the alloy polished surface before
oxidation(Fig. 6a). (Fig. 6 b) Corrosion pits with a similar size can be
observed on the surface of oxide film at 1200 ℃, suggesting that oxide
film flakes in the process of heating, heat preservation and cooling. Oxide
film peeling does great harm to the alloy oxidation resistance, especially
when peeling occurs at the stage of heating or thermal insulation. The
exposed matrix after oxide film peeling makes the oxidation corrosion
deeper into the alloy.
After oxidation of FeCrAl alloy at 1200 ℃, the corrosion pits in
oxidation film are circular or elliptic pits with the size of 50ꢀm (Fig. 6c).
Fig. 6d shows the partial morphology of corrosion pit border. From the
figure, it is easy to find the following points: 1) The folds of FeCrAl

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
(
1200
4h) oxide film show the same direction. 2) Al O oxide film is
2
3
layered. Between the white and bright Al O on the surface layer and
2
3
matrix there is a dark layer of Al O , suggesting that the growth direction
2
3
of Al O may change in the process of heating and heat preservation. 3)
2
3
Wavelike ravines inside the exposed matrix are seen along the direction
of the fold. There have been no signs of Al O growth from the matrix
2
3
surface. To prove that no α- Al O is formed in the exposed matrix from
2
3
the morphology, the matrix in corrosion pit (Fig. 6f) and outer α- Al O3
2
(
Fig. 6e) are magnified, respectively. Outer α- Al O film presents an
2
3
image of stack-based particles growing with different sizes. Larger α-
Al O are closely arranged, and smaller α- Al O grow between the grain
2
3
2
3
boundary. The morphology of matrix in the corrosion pits is totally
different from that in Fig. 6e. One shows a flat convex surface, while
another shows tightly arranged grains and similar concave surface along
the intergranular fracture. In Fig. 6d, it can be seen that the direction of
ravines in the corrosion pit is in line with the fold direction of surface
Al O , showing there is also fold where peeling occurs. Convex plate in
2
3
corrosion pit is the location where oxide film fold warps. Since the oxide
film has fallen off from matrix, the surface is very smooth. And the
“ravines” are the intergranular fracture formed when the oxide film falls
off matrix (Fig. 7). SEM and EDS are used to analyze oxide film and
partial matrix, and the results (Tab. 3) show that there is no oxidation of

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
the matrix in oxidation corrosion pits. Therefore, the oxide film peeling
occurs at the cooling stage (If it occurs at the stage of heating or thermal
insulation, the oxidation of the exposed matrix will continue.)
Table 3 Element ratios in different micro-areas for FeCrAl alloy after steam
oxidation at 1200℃ (wt.%)
Fe
Cr
Al
O
Mo
Nb
Fig.1
Fig.6e
Fig.6f
56.59
-
8.47
-
2.27
46.29
4.30
-
53.71
-
-
-
32.67
-
75.86
12.85
3.75
3.23
Fig. 7 Fold schematic
Oxide film folds can be observed during the oxidation of FeCrAl
alloy at 1200 ℃ (Fig. 6d). Oxide film peeling is closely associated with
fold. The driving force of both is oxidative stress in the process of
heating- thermal insulation-cooling. Oxidative stress includes the growth

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
stress from the growth of oxide film and thermal stress from the
difference of thermal expansion between alloy matrix and oxide.
The judgment formula for protective oxide film peeling in the state
of compressive stress is shown as follows [21].
(3)
E and ν are elasticity modulus and poisson’s ratio of oxide film, h is
the thickness of the oxide film, and σ is medium biaxial residual stress of
the film .When elastic strain energy in the complete oxide film is over the
fracture resistance of metal-oxide film interface (Gc), flaking occurs.
During oxidation of FeCrAl alloy at a constant temperature of
1
200 ℃ , the growth ofα- Al O film, the increasing thickness of oxide
2
3
film h, and internal oxidation contribute to the increase of σ, leading to
the increasing tendency of α-Al O film peeling. Most oxide films in the
2
3
state of compressive stress flake by means of fold or wedge-shaped
cracking [22]. Based on elastic mechanics, Formula (4) shows the critical
stress, which is necessary for the formation of stack-based warp with
radius of a in the film under the action of biaxial stress.
(4)
In the process of oxidation, oxide film fold forms when σ＞σ . But
c
when the strain release rate does not meet Formula (3), fold will not
continue to peel off. Apparently FeCrAl alloy oxide film at 1200 ℃

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
accords with this kind of situation, so in the process of heating and heat
preservation only fold occurs but not peeling. Based on the results and
discussion, we can judge the oxide film peeling mostly occurs at the
cooling stage of oxidation.
Fig. 8 is SEM of the cross section of FeCrAl oxide film (1200 ℃ for
4
h). Fig. 8 shows the cross-section morphology of oxide film folds. Gaps
form between oxide film and the matrix because of fold warp. These gaps
are widespread between scale/matrix, causing the decrease of adhesion
area of oxide film and matrix. Therefore, the oxide film peels off more
easily. From Fig. 8 it can be observed that inside the oxide film there are
cracks in the normal direction of oxide film. They are considered to be
the starting point of circular peeling. At the cooling stage, there is mainly
tensile stress in the oxide film. With the release of the thermal stress,
oxide film is easy to crack in the place of stress concentration (Fig. 9).
Obviously, when cracks in the normal direction run through the whole
oxide film, through-wall cracks extend and eventually peel off under the
action of tensile stress.

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Fig. 8 SEM of cross-section of oxide film
Fig. 9 Schematic diagram of oxide film cracking
4
. Conclusions
In summary, high-temperature steam oxidation of FeCrAl alloy has
been investigated in this study and the conclusions can be listed in the
following aspects. Firstly, the modified FeCrAl alloy with low
concentration of Cr and Al still keeps an excellent high-temperature
steam oxidation resistance, with an parabolic rate constraint of three

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
orders of magnitude lower than that of Zr-4 alloy at 1000℃ . The FeCrAl
alloy has low oxidation rate at 1200℃ , although the weight during
oxidation increases. Secondly, the composition of oxide layer on alloy
surface mainly consists of FeO and α-Al O at 1000℃ , while the product
2
3
at 1200℃ is only α-Al O . The behavior of oxidation at 1200℃ refers to
2
3
the growth of α-Al O layer. At the high temperature reaction occurs in
2
3
the initial oxide Cr O with the formation of CrO gas which volatilizes.
2
3
3
Therefore, Cr O consumes severely at 1200 ℃ .
2
3
Furthermore, the oxide layer after HTSO peels off from surface
without resulting in oxidation of the exposed matrix, indicating that the
layer-peeling occurs for cooling. During the oxidation at constant
temperature oxide folds form in oxide film without peeling. Gaps form at
the interface of matrix/scale because of fold, causing the decrease of
adhesion area of oxide film and matrix. Therefore, oxide film peeling
tends to increase. In the process of cooling, cracks in the normal direction
run through the whole oxide film, through-wall cracks extend and
eventually peel off under the action of tensile stress. To sum up, in
simulating LOCA accident under the condition of temperature below
1
200 ℃ , the improved FeCrAl alloy still shows very good high
temperature steam oxidation resistance, but oxide film peeling appears at
the cooling stage after oxidation at 1200 ℃ . Therefore, the heat cycle
oxidation properties of the alloy still needs more research.

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Acknowledgements
Great thanks for the financial support to our work from the Project
Funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (58 group, Grant No:
2
015M580799). Great thanks to China Academy of Engineering Physics
and Nuclear Power Institute of China for help in terms of experimental
conditions.
References
[
1] L.J. Ott, K.R. Robb, D. Wang, Preliminary assessment of accident-tolerant fuels
on LWR performance during normal operation and under DB and BDB accident
conditions, Journal of Nuclear Materials 448 (2014) 520-533.
[
2] B. Cox, C. Wu. Transient effects of lithium hydroxide and boric acid on Zircaloy
corrosion. Journal of nuclear materials,1995, 224:169-178.
3] Wang D. Study of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 4 Spent-Fuel
Pool, Nuclear Technology, 2012, 180(2): 205-215.
4] K.G. Field, M.N. Gussev, Y. Yamamoto, L.L. Snead, Deformation behavior of
[
[
laser welds in high temperature oxidation resistant Fe-Cr-Al alloys for fuel cladding
applications, Journal of Nuclear Materials, 454 (2014) 352-358.
[
5] I.G. Wright, B.A. Pint, P.F. Tortorelli. High-Temperature Oxidation Behavior Of
Ods-Fe Al, Oxidation of Metals, 2001, 55(3-4):333-357.
3
[
6] Sebastien Dryepondt, Put R V, Pint B A. Effect of H O and CO on the Oxidation
2 2
Behavior and Durability at High Temperature of ODS-FeCrAl. Oxidation of Metals,
013, 79(5-6):627-638.
7] Yamamoto Y, B.A. Pint, Terrani K A, et al. Development and Property Evaluation
2
[
of Nuclear Grade Wrought FeCrAl Fuel Cladding for Light Water Reactors, Journal of
Nuclear Materials, 2015, 467:703-716.

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
[
8] Field K G, Gussev M N, Yamamoto Y, et al. Deformation behavior of laser welds
in high temperature oxidation resistant Fe-Cr-Al alloys for fuel cladding
applications[J]. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2014, 454(s 1-3):352-358.
[
9] Brumm M W, Grabke H J. ChemInform Abstract: The Oxidation Behavior of NiAl.
Part 1. Phase Transformations in the Alumina Scale During Oxidation of NiAl and
NiAl-Cr Alloys.[J]. Cheminform, 1992, 23(51):18-18.
[
10] Kear B H, Pettit F S, Fornwalt D E, et al. On the transient oxidation of a
Ni-15Cr-6Al alloy, Oxidation of Metals, 1971, 3(6):557-569.
11] Westbrook J H, Fleischer R L. Intermetallic compounds: principles and practice.
Farfon.fulba.com, 1995.
12] Yamamoto Y, B.A. Pint, Terrani K A, et al. Development and Property Evaluation
[
[
of Nuclear Grade Wrought FeCrAl Fuel Cladding for Light Water Reactors, Journal of
Nuclear Materials, 2015, 467:703-716.
[
13] C heng X, Yuan Y C, Zhang L F. The 3rd International Symposium on
Supercritical Water-Cooled Reactors-Design and Technology, Shanghai: Shanghai
Jiao Tong University Press, 2007. 327.
[
[
14] C. Wagner, Z. Phys. Chem. B 21 (1933) 25.
15] Badini C, Laurella F. Oxidation of FeCrAl alloy: Influence of temperature and
atmosphere on scale growth rate and mechanism[J]. Surface & Coatings Technology,
001, 135(2):291-298.
16] Wallwork G R. The oxidation of alloys[J]. Reports on Progress in Physics, 1976,
9(5): 401-485.
17] Zhang Z G, Zhang X J, Pan T J, Niu Y. Initial stage oxidation of Fe-Al and
Fe-Cr-Al alloys at high temperature, Research on Iron and Steel, 2007(03):38-42.
18] Niu Y, Wang S, Gao F, et al. The nature of the third-element effect in the
2
[
3
[
[
oxidation of Fe-xCr-3 at.% Al alloys in 1 atm O-2 at 1000 degrees C[J]. Corrosion
Science, 2008, 50(2):345-356.
[
19] Tedmon C S. The Effect of Oxide Volatilization on the Oxidation Kinetics of
Cr and Fe-Cr Alloys, Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 1966, 113(8):766-768.
20] An XPS/SEM/EDX study of the early oxidation stages of the Fe- 19Cr-5Al( + Y)
[

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
alumina-forming alloy
[
21] Lobb R C, Evans H E. A determination of the chromium concentration for
healing’ layer formation during the oxidation of chromium-depleted 20Cr-25Ni-Nb
‘
stainless steel, Corrosion Science, 1984, 24(5):385-388.
22] Evans H E, Evans H E. Stress Effects In High Temperature Oxidation Of Metals,
International Materials Reviews, 1995, 40(1): 1-40.
[

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT
Highlights:
(
1) The FeCrAl alloy has low oxidation rate at 1200℃, the weight
during oxidation increases.
2) The composition of oxide layer on alloy surface mainly consists
of FeO and Al O at 1000℃.
(
2
3
(
3) While the product at 1200℃ is only Al O .
2
3
(
4) The oxidation behavior at 1200℃ refers to the growth of Al O3
2
layer.
(5) Low concentration of Cr and Al still keeps an excellent steam
oxidation resistance