Stress analysis by Micro-Laue diffraction on Zr based chromium coatings

In order to enhance the oxidation resistance of nuclear fuel cladding tubes, chromium coatings are one of the most advanced and realistic concepts. In that context, studying the stress distribution of the coating before and after irradiation is of prime interest. However, the prediction of the coating plasticity and mechanical behaviour in the system Cr coating/Zr-alloy substrate is an open issue that requires numerical simulation. The objective of the experiment is to quantify the stress redistribution induced by the irradiation (of the coating) in order to validate numerical simulations. For that purpose, 2D and 3D elastic strain maps (within the Cr coating), built from Laue images, are acquired for different ion irradiation doses. For that experiment, a polychromatic beam (5-22 keV) and highly focused (500x500 nm2) beam, together with an efficient 2D detector, is required.