Corrosion of Inconel-625, Hastelloy-X280 and Incoloy-800 in 550 - 750°C superheated steam. Influence of alloy heat treatment, surface treatment, steam temperature and steam velocity. Part I: Results up to 6000 hours exposure time. RCN Report

Sheet samples of Inconel-625, Hastelloy-X280 and Incoloy-800 were tested, in the solution annealed and in the solution annealed + 20% cold worked + 800°C tempered condition, in steam with a velocity of 5 m/sec. at 550, 650 and 750°C and in steam with a volocity of 15 and 85 m/sec. at 550°C. At 550°C and 750°C the samples were tested in the heat treated, annealed or tempered and the heat treated + electropolished condition. At 650°C moreover as heat treated + ground and pickled samples were tested. Post-corrosion sample investigations involved measurement of the adherent oxide thickness, the total amount of corroded metal, the metal loss to system, and the metallographic and microprobe investigation of the adherent oxide film and adjacent diffusion disturbed alloy layer. The results obtained up to 6000 hours exposure time showed that the surface treatment has a decisive influence on the corrosion behaviour of all three alloys tested. The differences in the corrosion data for the two heat treatment conditions are small. The influence of the steam velocity, as tested at 550°C, on the initial corrosion rate was surprisingly high, while the long-term linear corrosion rates are only slightly influenced by the gas velocity. In general the linear corrosion rates were low, 1-5 mg/dm² month, and not consistently affected by the test-temperature. The metal loss to system values were 2 <15 mg/dm² in the low velocity steam at all three test temperatures and <30 mg/dm² in the high velocity steam at 550°C. The metallographic and microprobe examinations revealed no remarkable results, as compared with the results of analogous tests reported in literature. (author)