Effect of Process Variables on Texture and Hydride Orientation of Cold Pilgered Zr-Sn-Nb-Fe Cladding Tubes

Cold pilgering technology is one of the most widely used methods to fabricate the seamless zirconium alloy cladding tubes. In practice, the process parameters, such as the reduction ratio of wall thickness and outer diameter and cross-sectional reduction, have not been enough researched in obtaining reasonable control and enhancement of texture during the forming process of zirconium tube. In this study, a more general index, strain ratio, is used to represent the plastic flow and the deformation degree of pilgered tubes. The relationship between strain ratio and texture evolution as well as the influence of tooling design on the strain ratio are quantitatively explored. Besides, a second-order polynomial relationship between basal pole f-parameter and hydride orientation factor has also been developed to achieve the integrated design for fabricating the Zr-Sn-Nb-Fe cladding tubes with high-dimensional accuracy and tailored properties.