US 12,437,885 B2
Nuclear reactor component having a coating of partially metastable chromium
Frédéric Schuster, St Germain-en-Laye (FR); Fernando Lomello, Gif-sur-Yvette (FR); Francis Maury, Labege (FR); Alexandre Michau, Toulouse (FR); Raphaël Boichot, Domene (FR); and Michel Pons, La Tronche (FR)
Assigned to COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES, Paris (FR)
Filed by COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES, Paris (FR)
Filed on Jul. 21, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/381,855.
Application 17/381,855 is a division of application No. 16/337,662, granted, now 11,104,994, previously published as PCT/FR2017/052658, filed on Sep. 28, 2017.
Claims priority of application No. 1659278 (FR), filed on Sep. 28, 2016; and application No. 1659279 (FR), filed on Sep. 28, 2016.
Prior Publication US 2022/0002865 A1, Jan. 6, 2022
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. G21C 3/07 (2006.01); C23C 16/18 (2006.01); C23C 16/32 (2006.01); C23C 16/34 (2006.01); C23C 16/36 (2006.01); C23C 16/448 (2006.01); C23C 16/56 (2006.01)
CPC G21C 3/07 (2013.01) [C23C 16/18 (2013.01); C23C 16/32 (2013.01); C23C 16/34 (2013.01); C23C 16/36 (2013.01); C23C 16/4486 (2013.01); C23C 16/56 (2013.01)] 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A nuclear reactor component chosen from a nuclear fuel cladding, a spacer grid, a guide tube, a plate fuel and an absorber rod, the component comprising:
a substrate based on a metal chosen from zirconium, titanium, vanadium, molybdenum and base alloys thereof; and
at least one protective layer coating said substrate and composed of a protective material comprising a partially metastable chromium comprising a stable chromium crystalline phase comprising chromium of centered cubic crystallographic structure according to the Im-3m space group and a metastable chromium crystalline phase comprising chromium of centered cubic crystallographic structure according to the Pm-3n space group.