Tiny hydrides reveal hidden stresses that can crack nuclear reactor pressure tubes

Engineers at Western University first described in Nature Communications how hydrogen bonds with zirconium to form brittle hydride structures that create strong stresses in CANDU reactor pressure tubes. These stresses deform the metal and can lead to cracks.

• Study published in Nature Communications
• Zirconium hydrides create local stresses in tube metal
• Stresses lead to deformation and cracking of CANDU pressure tubes