Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A method for decreasing an amount of radiation-enhanced corrosion within a fuel rod assembly comprising:applying a metallic coating onto an outer surface of a first component of the fuel rod assembly, wherein the first component comprises a zirconium-based material;wherein the metallic coating reduces an electrochemical corrosion potential difference between the first component and a second component of the fuel rod assembly as compared to an electrochemical corrosion potential difference between the first component and the second component without the metallic coating; andwherein the second component is in contact with or located adjacent to the first component, and wherein the second component comprises a material different from the first component. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the metallic coating comprises a component selected from the group consisting of NiCrAlY, NiCr, Cr2O3, Cr3C2, Ni, FeCrAlY, FeCr, and combinations thereof. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the metallic coating comprises at least one of NiCrAlY or FeCrAlY. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first component is at least one of a cladding tube or a fuel channel. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second component is at least one of a spacer, stops, a spring, or a control blade, and wherein the second component comprises a nickel-based alloy or an iron-based alloy. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the metallic coating has a thickness from about 0.1 microns to about 10 mil. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the metallic coating has a thickness from about 2 to about 3 mil. 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising adding a binding agent to the metal coating to assist in adhering the metallic coating onto the outer surface of the cladding tube. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the applying step is done by at least one of a thermal spray process, a plasma spray deposition process, a wire arc coating process, chemical vapor deposition, electron beam physical vapor deposition, sputtering, pulsed laser deposition, electroplating, electrophoretic deposition, or electroless coating.