A review of fretting study on nuclear power equipment

Nuclear power plants, working in extremely harsh environment, primarily in the form of high-speed fluid flow, circulate through complex systems. Serious tribological problems can occur when a small amount of nuclear energy is converted into mechanical energy in the components (e.g., fuel-rod cladding, tube of the heat exchange systems). With the increase of the service life of nuclear power equipment, a considerable number of nuclear power equipment or structure failures occur one after another. Although the influencing factors are different, fretting damage is one of the important factors. Fretting damage has strong concealment and high risk, and it is often the main cause of component failure. Thus, improving the reliability of nuclear power equipment, extending their life, and optimizing their structure are important. In recent decades, many scholars have studied fretting wear, fretting fatigue, and fretting corrosion behavior in nuclear power equipment. Accordingly, they have solved many problems, accumulated a lot of experience, and put forward many criteria. In this article, the research status of fretting damage in key equipment and structures of nuclear power plant is reviewed.