Corrosion potential behavior in high-temperature water of noble metal-doped alloy coatings deposited by underwater thermal spraying

Intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) of sensitized stainless steel (SS) components in boiling water reactors (BWR) is a major concern. The SCC susceptibility of structural materials in high-temperature water is affected by the electrochemical corrosion potential (ECP). The ECP of type 304 stainless steel coated under water by hyper-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) and plasma-spray (PS) techniques using noble metal-doped powders was measured to evaluate the catalytic behavior in high-temperature water under various water chemistry conditions. Thermal-spray coatings of noble metal-doped powders exhibited catalytic behavior for the recombination of oxygen and hydrogen in high-temperature water, which caused ECP to decrease well below a critical value of -230 mVSHE for intergranular stress corrosion cracking protection in water. This was observed in water containing various amounts of oxygen and hydrogen peroxide when stoichiometric excess hydrogen was present