Corrosion phenomena induced by liquid metals in Generation IV reactors

The understanding and prediction of corrosion phenomena in liquid metal-cooled reactors is very important for the performance assessment of the structural materials of the different reactor components. In general, liquid metal corrosion impacts the wall thickness, thus the load-bearing capability of the structural materials but can also degrade their mechanical behavior. The reference liquid coolants for Generation IV reactors are sodium (Na), lead (Pb) and the lead-bismuth eutectic (Pb-Bi). Therefore, this chapter addresses the key issues related to the structural materials corrosion in these liquid metals, introducing corrosion mechanism that can be activated under reactor conditions as well as operational parameters affecting them. Moreover, experimental data on corrosion and mechanical properties degradation, as well as theoretical approaches for corrosion prediction, are also included. Finally, corrosion mitigation methods are briefly summarized and an outlook is given.

FAZIO Concetta;  BALBAUD Fanny; 

2017-01-18

Elsevier

JRC103337

978-0-08-100906-2,   

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780081009062000021,    http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/book/9780081009062,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC103337,