Corrosion of ferrous alloys in nitrogen contaminated liquid lithium

Liquid lithium penetration of 304L stainless steel and Armco iron grain boundaries has been studied. The penetration kinetics for the 304L stainless steel was found to be diffusion controlled. The measured temperature dependent delay time has been associated with the initial formation of the corrosion product at the grain boundary. Nitrogen in the stainless steel or the liquid lithium has been found to accelerate the rate of attack without changing the apparent activation energy. Grain boundary grooving of Armco iron in liquid lithium indicates that the controlling mass transport is also through a corrosion product present as a surface film. Stresses as small as 12 MPa have been found to give rise to a fifty-fold increase in the rate of penetration of Armco iron by liquid lithium