New model of cobalt activity accumulation on stainless steel piping surfaces under boiling water reactor conditions

A new technique for on-line measurement of corrosion amount and activity accumulation was developed. Cobalt activity accumulation tests were conducted under the normal water chemistry (NWC) condition (electrochemical corrosion potential (ECP): +0.15 V vs. SHE) and the hydrogen water chemistry (HWC) condition (ECP -0.30 V vs. SHE, -0.42 V vs. SHE) to evaluate cobalt activity accumulation under HWC conditions in boiling water reactors (BWRs). Total corrosion decreased and cobalt activity accumulation increased as ECP decreased. Experimental data were reproduced by a new model, in which cobalt activity deposits on oxide particle surfaces by absorption or replacement. This model estimated the cobalt activity accumulation under HWC conditions (ECP <-0.42 V vs. SHE) after 10000 h to be 12 times as large as that under NWC conditions (ECP +0.15 V vs. SHE). (author)