The effect of texture variation on delayed hydride cracking behavior of Zr-2.5%Nb plate

In order to investigate the effect of texture variation on the delayed hydride cracking behavior in Zr-2.5%Nb plates, crack growth rate and K-IH tests have been carried out at temperature ranges varying from 415 to 506 K after texture modification by rolling. The texture variation of plates was achieved by direct-rolling and cross-rolling. Texture was measured through the determination of inverse pole figures, from which the basal pole components were calculated. The results have shown that the texture of a plate in which the basal poles are concentrated in the transverse direction can be changed significantly by cross-rolling. The crack growth rate increases exponentially with the basal pole component in the direction normal to the cracking plane. The increase in stress relieving temperature on cold worked material reduces crack growth rate. K-IH decreases linearly with the basal pole component, and a behavior of which could be explained by the uniformly dispersed aggregate composite theory. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.