Zirconium alloys are commonly used as a cladding material for fuel elements in nuclear
reactors. This application is connected with zirconium alloy’s good resistance to water corrosion and
radiation resistance under normal working conditions. In the case of severe accident conditions, the
possibly very fast oxidation of zirconium alloys in steam or/and air atmosphere may result in the
intense generation of hydrogen and explosion of the hydrogen oxide mixture. The development of a
solution to minimize the aforementioned risk is of interest. One of the actual concepts is to improve
the oxidation resistance of Zr alloy cladding with protective coatings. This study aimed to develop,
form, and investigate new coatings for zirconium alloy Zry-2. Multi-elemental Physical Vapour
Deposition (PVD) coatings with Cr, Si, and Zr were considered for Institute of Nuclear Chemistry
and Technology) INCT as corrosion protective coatings for nuclear fuel claddings. Heat treatment
at 850–1100 C/argon, air oxidation processes at 700 C/1–5 h, and a long-term corrosion test in
standard conditions for PressureWater Reactor (PWR) reactors (360 C/195 bar/water simulating
the water used in PWR) were carried out. Initial, modified, and oxidized materials were characterized
with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) (morphology observations), Energy Dispersive
Spectroscopy (EDS) (elemental composition determination), and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) (phase composition
analysis). Slower oxidation processes and a smaller oxidation rate, in the case of modified
material investigations, were observed, as compared with the unmodified material. The obtained
results displayed a protective character against the oxidation of formed layers in the defined range of
parameters in the process.