Super ODS steels R and D for fuel cladding of next generation nuclear systems. 6) Corrosion behavior in SCPW

Corrosion is a critical issue for cladding materials, especially, in sever corrosion environment as supercritical pressurized water (SCPW). In this work, the effects of alloy elements on the corrosion behavior in SCPW were investigated for a series of oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) steels to design alloy compositions for corrosion resistant super ODS ferritic steels. Corrosion tests were carried out for the ODS steels with different concentrations of Cr and Al in SCPW at 773K at 25MPa with 8ppm of dissolved oxygen. The corrosion rate of SUS430, which contained 16wt.%Cr, was much higher than 16Cr-ODS steel. This suggests that nano-sized oxide particles dispersion and very fine grains play an important role in suppression of the corrosion. The corrosion of the ODS steel was reduced by an addition of Al in 16wt.%Cr-ODS steel but not in 19Cr-ODS steel. FE-EPMA chemical analysis clearly indicated that the surface of the Al added ODS steels was covered by alumina which suppresses the corrosion in SCPW. It is considered that an adequate combination of the contents of Cr and Al is ranging (14-16)Cr and (3.5-4.5)Al. (author)