Zirconium and silicon zirconium have good plasticity, and can be made into pipes, plates, rods and wires, of which pipes are the main products. The processing technology of zirconium and silicon zirconium depends on the basic properties of zirconium and the special requirements of nuclear reactors for zirconium components. The basic properties of zirconium are: easy to be contaminated by oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, etc., easy to stick to the mold, with homogeneous and heterogeneous transformation. The requirements of nuclear reactors for zirconium components are high dimensional accuracy, strict microstructure requirements, and stable performance. The main processes of the most widely used seamless zirconium tube processing are: preparation of consumable electrodes, melt casting, forging, hot extrusion (tube blank), cold processing, and finishing.
Vacuum consumable arc melting method is the most common method for industrial production of zirconium and silicon zirconium. Only by adopting the correct method of adding alloying elements, the appropriate ratio of new and old materials and a reasonable melting casting system can we obtain high-quality ingots.
