Localized corrosion of a candidate container material for high-level nuclear waste disposal

Localized corrosion is one of the important considerations in the design of metallic containers used for the geologic disposal of high-level nuclear waste. This paper addresses the effect of environmental factors on the localized corrosion behavior of alloy 825, one of the candidate alloys for containers in the Yucca Mountain repository site. A two-level, full factorial experimental design was used to examine the main effects and interactions of chloride, sulfate, nitrate, fluoride, and temperature. This was augmented by additional experiments involving chloride and temperature at several levels. Cyclic, potentiodynamic polarization tests were used to determine the relative susceptibility of the alloy to localized corrosion. Crevice corrosion was detected at chloride levels as low as 20 ppm, and both pitting and crevice corrosion were observed at higher chloride levels. Among the environmental factors, chloride and sulfate were found to be promoters of localized corrosion, while nitrate and fluoride were inhibitors of localized corrosion. The experiments indicated that the electrochemical parameters (e.g., pitting potential, repassivation potential, or the difference between them) were not sufficient indicators of localized corrosion. Instead, the visual observation and electrochemical parameters were combined into an index, termed localized corrosion index (LCI), to quantify the extent of localized corrosion