THE nuclear power industry continues to be the major consumer of zirconium metal production in the world today. On the basis of neutron economy, corrosion resistance and mechanical strength, zirconium alloys have been the ideal choice for the fuel-cladding and other core components in watercooled nuclear power systems. In the United States
alone, the current annual requirement of zircaloy tubing
for nuclear fuel cladding has been placed at 250 tons,
which will grow to 600 tons by 1970 and 900 tons by 1973. In India, for the 1200 MW(e) nuclear power programme envisaged for the IV Plan period, zircaloy tube requir-ements have been estimated at 50 tons per year and will increase to 75 tons and more during the V Plan period
