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Corrosion of Candidate Container Materials in Air-Steam Mixtures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2011

James M. Lutton ,
D. A. Dewees ,
C. G. Robinson ,
W. F. Brehm  and
R. P. Anantatmula
James M. Lutton
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, P. O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352
D. A. Dewees
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, P. O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352
C. G. Robinson
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, P. O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352
W. F. Brehm
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest Laboratory, P. O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352
R. P. Anantatmula
Affiliation:
Westinghouse Hanford Co., P. O. Box 1970, Richland WA 99352
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Abstract

The environment during the operating period of a high-level nuclear waste repository in basalt is expected to be air saturated with steam. Liquid groundwater is not expected to be in contact with the container surface during that time.

The report presents corrosion findings from tests conducted for one to twenty-five months in an air-steam environment. Tests were carried out with bare metal specimens exposed to an air atmosphere containing 12% moisture in chambers maintained at temperatures between 150°C and 300°C. Cast carbon steel exhibited total penetrations less than 0.002 mm for exposures up to 25 months. A ferritic alloy steel, Fe9CrlMo, showed corrosion results very similar to cast carbon steel. Unalloyed copper materials showed essentially linear corrosion rates, with total penetrations between 0.002 mm at 150°C and 0.14 mm at 300°C in 25 months. Cupronickel 90−10 exhibited total penetrations between 0.001 mm at 150°C and 0.05 mm at 300°C in 25 months. There was a tendency for the corrosion rate to increase with time for cupronickel at 250°C and 300°C possibly because of a mid-test change in the corrosion mechanism. Limited testing of specimens surrounded with bentonite/basalt packing material indicated that the presence of packing has no strong effect on the corrosion of iron-base materials; however, copper-base and cupronickel materials corroded at higher rates in the presence of packing, with a possible shift towards the lower bare specimen corrosion rates with increasing time.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 112: Symposium P – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XI , 1987 , 751
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1988

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References

1. Lutton, J. M., Brehm, W. F., Maffei, H. P., Rivera, C. L., and Anantatmula, R. P., “General Corrosion Studies of Candidate Container Materials for the Basalt Waste Isolation Project” in High-Level Nuclear Waste Disposal, edited by Burkholder, H. C., Battelle Press, (Columbus, 1986), p. 565.Google Scholar
2. J._ Lutton, M., “General Corrosion Studies of Candidate Container Materials for the Basalt Waste Isolation Project” in High-Level Nuclear Waste Disposal, edited by Burkholder, H. C., Battelle Press, (Columbus, 1986), p. 564.Google Scholar
3. Johnston, R. G., Anantatmula, R. P., Lutton, J. M., and Rivera, C. L. in Corrosion Phase Formation on Container Alloys in Basalt Repository Environments, (Advances in Ceramics Vol.20: Nuclear Waste Management II, Amer. Cer. Soc., 1986) p. 343.Google Scholar
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