Abstract
The corrosion behavior of commercial and model FeCrAl alloys and type 310 stainless steel was examined by autoclave tests and compared to Zircaloy-4, the reference cladding materials in light water reactors. The corrosion studies were carried out in three distinct water chemistry environments found in pressurized and boiling water reactor primary coolant loop conditions for up to one year. The structure and morphology of the oxides formed on the surface of these alloys was consistent with thermodynamic predictions. Spinel-type oxides were found to be present after hydrogen water chemistry exposures, while the oxygenated water tests resulted in the formation of very thin and protective hematite-type oxides. Unlike the alloys exposed to oxygenated water tests, the alloys tested in hydrogen water chemistry conditions experienced mass loss as a function of time. This mass loss was the result of net sum of mass gain due to parabolic oxidation and mass loss due to dissolution that also exhibits parabolic kinetics. The maximum thickness loss after one year of LWR water corrosion in the absence of irradiation was ∼2 μm, which is inconsequential for a ∼300–500 μm thick cladding.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 36-47 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Journal of Nuclear Materials |
Volume | 479 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 1 2016 |
Funding
The work presented in this paper was supported by the Advanced Fuels Campaign of the Fuel Cycle R&D program in the Office of Nuclear Energy, US Department of Energy. The microscopy was supported through a user proposal by ORNL’s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), which is a U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science User Facility. The authors would like to thank S.J Pawel and A. Willoughby for assistance in preparing the specimens. K.G. Field and J. McMurray provided useful comments on the manuscript.
Funders | Funder number |
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CNMS | |
ORNL’s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences | |
U.S. Department of Energy | |
Office of Science | |
Office of Nuclear Energy |