ABSTRACT
The corrosion behavior of 20G and TP347H materials was investigated in molten LiCl-NaCl-KCl salt. The corrosion rates of these materials in molten chloride salt are high and are strongly affected by the alloying surface oxide formation. The 20G shows uniform surface corrosion with almost no protective oxide formation on the surface. In contrast, the austenitic steel TP347H exhibits better corrosion resistance in molten chloride salts due to its high Cr content. Owing to the highly corrosive nature of molten chloride salts, the Cl- in molten salt could react with oxides and alloy, inducing intergranular corrosion of austenitic steel in molten chloride salt environments.
ABSTRACT
Lead-cooled fast reactors exhibit strong inherent safety performance and good economic features, while material degradation due to corrosion and irradiation is still challenging. Oxide dispersion-strengthened steels are one of the promising candidates for fuel cladding materials. The effects of both irradiation and corrosion on ODS steel need to be further studied. In this work, MX-ODS steel was irradiated by Fe ions at 500 °C up to 46 dpa. Later, the as-received specimen and the irradiated specimen were used to conduct corrosion tests in oxygen-saturated Pb at 550 °C for 1 h. In the as-received specimen, discontinuous oxides penetrated by Pb and Pb in contact with steel matrix were observed, demonstrating unsatisfactory corrosion resistance of the material. However, in the irradiated specimen after corrosion experiment, a protective oxide layer formed and prevented Pb attack. The oxidation behavior differences between the two specimens can be attributed to the defects produced by irradiation and the structural discrepancy in oxides caused by the formation process. A possible mechanism of irradiation on the corrosion is discussed. In the as-received specimen, Fe atoms loss led to voids in the oxides, and lead penetrated the oxides through these voids. In the irradiated specimen, defects left by previous irradiation helped to form a more uniform oxide layer. The adhesive outer magnetite oxide and the Fe ions generated from where grain boundary oxidation developed retarded the presence of voids and made the oxide layer protective.
