Since
depleted uranium is chemically active and easily oxidized in environment, it is very important in nuclear engineering to effectively protect depleted uranium. This is why the
protection of the depleted uranium has been focused on for many years. Thus two types of Al_2O_3/Al composite
coatings prepared by different physical vapor deposition techniques were used to protect the depleted uranium in the present work, using the Al coating as a reference. The applicability of the Al_2O_3/Al composite coatings in the protection of the depleted uranium was investigated by means of salt spray test in 5%NaCl solution and abrasion test, in combination with scanning electron microscopic/energy dispersive spectroscopic and X ray diffraction analyses. As the results, no obvious
corrosion was observed for the
reactive magnetron sputtered Al_2O_3/Al composite coating on the
Depleted uranium, but serious corrosion spalling was observed for the plasma sprayed Al_2O_3/Al composite
Coating. Both the two types of Al_2O_3/Al composite coatings had much better wear resistance and corrosion resistance than Al coating. Specifically, the reactive magnetron sputtered Al_2O_3/Al composite coating could be used to effectively protect the depleted uranium.