A study of the corrosion of alloy 800 in high-temperature steam

General corrosion testing of Alloy 800 tube material by the General Electric Co. using out of pile loops with steam temperatures in the range 430 to 770 deg.C and 70 at. pressure with a surface heat flux of 55 W.cm-2 and flow velocities of 30 to 60 m.sec-1 showed after about 5000 h (a) a relatively moderate loss of metal at a fairly high corrosion rate, (b) a relatively high loss of oxide to the steam phase, and (c) the formation of a zone at the metal surface depleted in chromium by diffusion to the oxide film. It is important to establish whether these results for Alloy 800 were typical of those to be expected under heat transfer, and whether they could be used as a basis for extrapolation to the higher heat fluxes and longer exposure time relevant to superheat applications. Additional corrosion tests in superheated steam of 1000 h duration under isothermal conditions were therefore undertaken and an experimental loop was built to study the effects of high heat fluxes and long exposures on corrosion behaviour under conditions as close as possible to those expected in service. Experimental results are given and discussed. (author)