A study on the effect of residual stresses on hydride assisted crack in Zr-2.5Nb pressure tube material using XFEM

•Hydrogen-induced cracking in Zr-2.5Nb pressure tube material is modeled successfully using the XFEM framework.•The effect of residual stress variation in the Zr-2.5Nb pressure tube is studied on the hydride embrittlement.•Two specimens from different locations of pressure tube with different residual stress variations are considered.•The effect of residual stresses on hydrogen concentration and hydride volume fraction is evaluated and analysed.