Zirconium tubes

At Fine Tubes we commonly use zirconium-based alloys to manufacture nuclear reactor components such as fuel claddings, coolant channels, pressure tubes and other equipment used in a reactive environment.

Zirconium alloys have low neutron absorption, high strength and high corrosion resistance under different operating conditions. Unlike stainless steels the texture of a zirconium product will have a significant effect on its performance because irradiation creep, yield strength, and stress corrosion cracking resistance are strong functions of texture.

Fine Tubes can manufacture precision tubes in the following Zirconium alloys:

• Zircalloy 2 (UNS R60802)
• Zircalloy 4 (UNS R60804)

To view more technical information on the alloys we most commonly manufacture, please click the alloy link above. You can also download the technical datasheet in our Downloads section.

Note: Microstructure image courtesy of Oxford Instruments Ltd.