@inproceedings{fea8b9d88ece48ee90fa0fdfbd16b4ec,
title = "A review of early findings within the collaborative research programme MUZIC—“Mechanistic Understanding of Zirconium Corrosion”",
abstract = "This paper comprises a review of some of the early research carried out within the Mechanistic Understanding of Zirconium Corrosion (MUZIC) consortium, which began in 2007 and was the first significant collaborative UK research program in the field of zirconium-based nuclear fuel cladding in the new millennium. MUZIC was funded by the UK{\textquoteright}s Engineering and Physical Science Research Council, with strong support from the nuclear industry in the UK, France, Sweden, and the United States. MUZIC is widely seen as the research program that kick-started the vibrant new UK research activity in zirconium-based fuel cladding, utilizing a modern collaborative approach through forming a seamless team between academia and the nuclear industry. The focus of MUZIC was understanding the root cause of the cyclic aqueous corrosion kinetics of commercial nuclear-grade zirconium alloys. The consortium focused particularly on the role of tin (Sn) in reducing the time of a corrosion cycle and therefore enhancing the overall corrosion kinetics.",
keywords = "corrosion, mechanistic understanding, MUZIC, synchrotron X-ray",
author = "Michael Preuss",
note = "Funding Information: When the initial MUZIC program came to an end, it was clear that there was a strong appetite among the developed network of academics and nuclear industry to continue this fruitful collaboration. The core funding for MUZIC had come from the UK{\textquoteright}s research council, but it was clear that it was not an option to simply keep “returning to the well” for continued funding for this specific area. (Although it should be noted that Zr research has continued to be generously funded by EPSRC, in parallel to MUZIC.) Fortunately, the Electric Power Research Institute decided to provide core funding, with other companies committing to fund PhD studentships while Westinghouse offered to lead a new program. MUZIC-2 changed its focus from corrosion performance toward understanding hydrogen pick-up, and the program broadened from UK-only academic contributions to an international collaboration that includes Penn State University (United States), Chalmers (Sweden), and later also the Paul Scherrer Institute (Switzerland) and other nuclear facilities. Today, we have MUZIC-3, and the collaboration has grown further with many new members from academia and industry worldwide. MUZIC-3 is the most challenging phase of the program to date as it tries to consider the effect of irradiation on corrosion and hydrogen pick-up. There have been many interesting findings resulting from the continued MUZIC program, which have been presented at numerous conferences and in journal publications. Most recently, we have been lucky enough in the UK to obtain more substantial research council funding for the MIDAS program, on Mechanistic Understanding of Irradiation Damage in Fuel Assemblies, which has a key aim of bringing together the various aspects of research on Zr in-reactor degradation. As well as linking closely into MUZIC, we hope that MIDAS will have an effect similar to MUZIC in bringing together the Zr community, with a wider focus on all degradation aspects, and that it will again develop into a collaboration involving academics and partners from around the world. Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2021 by ASTM International.; International Symposium on Zirconium in the Nuclear Industry 2021 ; Conference date: 19-05-2019 Through 23-05-2019",
year = "2021",
month = jun,
day = "28",
doi = "10.1520/STP162220190105",
language = "English",
series = "ASTM Special Technical Publication",
publisher = "ASTM International",
pages = "44--65",
editor = "Motta, {Arthur T.} and Yagnik, {Suresh K.}",
booktitle = "Zirconium in the Nuclear Industry",
url = "https://www.astm.org/products-services/standards-and-publications/symposia-papers/all-symposia-papers.html",
}