DETERMINATION OF THE BULK DIFFUSION-COEFF ICIENT OF OXYGEN IN ALPHA-ZIRCONIUM, IN THE TEMPERATURE-RANGE 500-640-DEGREES-C, BY NUCLEAR MICROANALYSIS

The diffusion coefficient Of Oxygen in alpha-zirconium was measured in the temperature range 500-640-degrees-C, by means of nuclear microana lysis. Measurements were performed without grinding the samples, and t hen using a computer process applied to the nuclear spectra of emitted protons from the O-16(d,p)O-17 reaction. The results are in good agr eement with higher temperature ones, previously measured by some of th e authors. They are also in agreement with stress-strain aging results , at lower temperatures. These results are bulk diffusion ones. Nevert heless, they are rather different from a series of others, also at low er temperatures. This is perhaps the effect of a grain boundary diffus ion phenomenon.