Het trekken van dunwandige zircaloy-2-buizen

Zircaloy-2 and zirconium tubes have been drawn down to 0.22 mm wall thickness. Some factors affecting the finished product have been studied : lubrication, shape of the dies and thermal treatment after each pass. The lubrication mechanism during the drawing has demonstrated the necessity of a well-bonded underlayer to fix the lubricant ; as underlayers have been studied: oxide, phosphate and bonderisation layers. The latter is to be preferred. Good results were obtained with tungsten carbide dies having an entry angle of 30° and a cylindrical part of 3mm length.