Environmental degradation of structural materials in liquid lead- and lead-bismuth eutectic-cooled reactors

Gong, Xing; Short, Michael P.; Auger, T.; Charalampopoulou, Evangelia; Lambrinou, Konstantina

doi:10.1016/j.pmatsci.2022.100920

Cited by 191 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 604 publications

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“…The corrosion of structural materials immersed in liquid heavy metals can usually be divided into four types, namely oxidation corrosion, dissolution corrosion, rinse corrosion and wear corrosion. 9 These corrosion phenomena may act alone or in combination on structural materials. Oxidation and dissolution corrosion are considered here due to the static corrosion test method used in this work.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The corrosion of materials in liquid metal is a physical or physio-chemical process, involving the dissolution of material constituents, the migration and penetration of heavy metals and reactions between corrosion products and impurities. 9 In the static state, corrosion is mainly divided into oxidation and dissolution corrosion. Compared with oxidation corrosion, dissolution corrosion in liquid metals is deadly and is particularly important for steel alloying elements, such as Ni, Mn, and Cr, which have high solubility in liquid lead or LBE; for example, Ni has a solubility of up to 10 at% in liquid LBE at 700 °C.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Corrosion behavior of 316 stainless steel arc parts in liquid lead at 650 °C under high oxygen concentrations

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Corrosion behavior of 316 stainless steel arc parts in liquid lead at 650 °C under high oxygen concentrations

et al. 2022

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“…This enables the on‐demand power supply to remote locations and could be potent for regions hit by natural disasters, [10b] i. e., floods, typhoons/hurricanes, and earthquakes, in order to support humanitarian aid and accelerate reconstruction. Still, the main issues in this research field are liquid metal corrosion (LMC) and liquid metal embrittlement (LME), which degrade the materials in contact over time [126c] . A convenient and reliable approach for mitigating this degradation is still under debate.…”

Section: A Brief Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

A Short History of Fusible Metals and Alloys – Towards Room Temperature Liquid Metals

et al. 2022

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Liquid metals are a class of materials with a millennia-long history, albeit until 200 years ago, mostly centered on mercurybased applications. The knowledge of mercury's toxicity and the discovery of it's bioaccumulation and biomagnification in the late 20 th century resulted in phasing out mercury for copious application. Lead-based, bismuth-based, and sodiumbased technology has partially replaced mercury, but due to toxicity or reactivity issues, replacements for lead and sodium are sought. The discovery of indium and, especially, gallium has allowed for the third generation of alloys with a melting point close to room temperature. This review gives a comprehensive overview of the technological developments of fusible and liquid metals, i. e., metals and alloys with melting points below ca. 250 °C, from the early days to current research and industrial application. Special emphasis is focused on important steppingstones and recent developments of gallium-based alloys as well as how they could be used for future applications.

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“…Ferritic/martensitic steels such as HT-9 and 9Cr steels are being recognized as candidate materials for the metallic fuelcladding in fast reactors. 37 It is known that ferritic/martensitic steels derive their corrosion resistance from the formation of compact oxide scale on the surface of materials by carefully controlling the oxygen content in the liquid metal. 38 It has been reported that the oxide layer has a duplex structure composed of a compact Fe-Cr spinel inner layer and a porous external magnetite layer in contact with the liquid metal.…”

Section: Utilizing Irradiation-enhanced Diffusion To Mitigate the Cor...mentioning

confidence: 99%

A novel approach on designing ultrahigh burnup metallic TWR fuels: Upsetting the current technological limits

Feng

Qiu

et al. 2022

MRS Bulletin

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The grand challenge of “net-zero carbon” emission calls for technological breakthroughs in energy production. The traveling wave reactor (TWR) is designed to provide economical and safe nuclear power and solve imminent problems, including limited uranium resources and radiotoxicity burdens from back-end fuel reprocessing/disposal. However, qualification of fuels and materials for TWR remains challenging and it sets an “end of the road” mark on the route of R&D of this technology. In this article, a novel approach is proposed to maneuver reactor operations and utilize high-temperature transients to mitigate the challenges raised by envisioned TWR service environment. Annular U-50Zr fuel and oxidation dispersion strengthened (ODS) steels are proposed to be used instead of the current U-10Zr and HT-9 ferritic/martensitic steels. In addition, irradiation-accelerated transport of Mn and Cr to the cladding surface to form a protective oxide layer as a self-repairing mechanism was discovered and is believed capable of mitigating long-term corrosion. This work represents an attempt to disruptively overcome current technological limits in the TWR fuels. Impact statement After the Fukushima accident in 2011, the entire nuclear industry calls for a major technological breakthrough that addresses the following three fundamental issues: (1) Reducing spent nuclear fuel reprocessing demands, (2) reducing the probability of a severe accident, and (3) reducing the energy production cost per kilowatt-hour. An inherently safe and ultralong life fast neutron reactor fuel form can be such one stone that kills the three birds. In light of the recent development findings on U-50Zr fuels, we hereby propose a disruptive, conceptual metallic fuel design that can serve the following purposes at the same time: (1) Reaching ultrahigh burnup of above 40% FIMA, (2) possessing strong inherent safety features, and (3) extending current limits on fast neutron irradiation dose to be far beyond 200 dpa. We believe that this technology will be able to bring about revolutionary changes to the nuclear industry by significantly lowering the operational costs as well as improving the reactor system safety to a large extent. Graphical abstract

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Environmental degradation of structural materials in liquid lead- and lead-bismuth eutectic-cooled reactors

Cited by 191 publications

References 604 publications

Corrosion behavior of 316 stainless steel arc parts in liquid lead at 650 °C under high oxygen concentrations

Corrosion behavior of 316 stainless steel arc parts in liquid lead at 650 °C under high oxygen concentrations

A Short History of Fusible Metals and Alloys – Towards Room Temperature Liquid Metals

A novel approach on designing ultrahigh burnup metallic TWR fuels: Upsetting the current technological limits

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