Oxidation behavior of ferritic/martensitic steels in stagnant liquid LBE saturated by oxygen at 600 °C

Ferritic/martensitic (F/M) steels are primary candidates for application as cladding and structural materials in the Generation IV Nuclear Reactor, especially accelerator driven sub-critical system (ADS). The compatibility of F/M steels with liquid lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) is a critical issue for development of ADS using liquid LBE as the coolant. In this work, the corrosion tests of two F/M steels, including a novel 9–12 Cr modified F/M steel named SIMP steel and a commercial T91 steel, were conducted in the static oxygen-saturated liquid LBE at 600 °C up to 1000 h, the microstructure of the oxide scale formed on these two steels was analyzed, the relationship between the microstructure and the oxidation behavior was studied, and the reason why the SIMP steel showed better oxidation resistance compared to T91 steel was analyzed. The results of this study confirmed that the oxidation behavior of the F/M steels in liquid metals is influenced by their alloying elements and microstructures