Research progress on FeCrAl alloys used for nuclear fuel cladding prepared by powder metallurgy

The fuel cladding plays an important role for the safe operation of the nuclear reactors. After the Fukushima nuclear accident, a large number of new types of the accident-tolerant fuel cladding have been developed. FeCrAl alloys have become one of the important candidate materials for the new generation of the accident-tolerant fuel cladding due to the excellent comprehensive properties, such as the high temperature oxidation resistance and the high strength. After years of research and development, some progress has been made in the design and preparation of FeCrAl alloys used for the nuclear fuel cladding. As one of the main research directions, the preparation of the oxide dispersion strengthened FeCrAl alloys with the better performance by powder metallurgy shows a broad prospect and has attracted the extensive attention from scholars at home and abroad. In this paper, the research status of the composition design, smelting, and powder metallurgy for the FeCrAl alloys used for the nuclear fuel cladding were reviewed. The microstructure, properties, and the existing problems of the FeCrAl alloys prepared by the different methods were analyzed. The future design and preparation of the FeCrAl alloys used for the nuclear fuel cladding were prospected.