Diffusion resistance of claddings for corrosion protection in molten salt reactors

The objective of the present study is to quantify the diffusion rates of Cr in corrosion-resistant claddings for use in molten fluoride salts. Diffusion couples of four candidate cladding and structural alloy combinations-stainless steel 316L and Incoloy 800H structural alloys, with Ni 200 and Hastelloy N claddings-were diffusion bonded at 900°C for two hours and thermally aged at 700°C for 1460 hours. Cr diffusion coefficients were calculated from EDS line scans. The results reported in this paper are a step towards predicting the durability of claddings in molten salt reactors (MSRs), and they allow comparisons of diffusion resistance to be made between four candidate cladding and structural alloy combinations. (author)