General Corrosion and Localized Corrosion of Waste Package Outer Barrier

Alloy 22 is an extremely Corrosion Resistant Material, with a very stable passive film. Based upon exposures in the LTCTF, the GC rates of Alloy 22 are typically below the level of detection, with four outliers having reported rates up to 0.75 #mu#m per year. In any event, over the 10,000 year life of the repository, GC of the Alloy 22 (assumed to be 2 cm thick) should not be life limiting. Because measured corrosion potentials are far below threshold potentials, localized breakdown of the passive film is unlikely under plausible conditions, even in SSW at 120 deg C. The pH in ambient-temperature crevices formed from Alloy 22 have been determined experimentally, with only modest lowering of the crevice pH observed under plausible conditions. Extreme lowering of the crevice pH was only observed under situations where the applied potential at the crevice mouth was sufficient to result in catastrophic breakdown of the passive film above the threshold potential in non-buffered conditions not characteristic of the Yucca Mountain environment. In cases where naturally ocurring buffers are present in the crevice solution, little or no lowering of the pH was observed, even with significant applied potential. With exposures of twelve months, no evidence of crevice corrosion has been observed in SDW, SCW and SAW at temperatures up to 90 deg C. An abstracted model has been presented, with parameters determined experimentally, that should enable performance assessment to account for the general and localized corrosion of this material. A feature of this model is the use of the materials specification to limit the range of corrosion and threshold potentials, thereby making sure that substandard materials prone to localized attack are avoided. Model validation will be covered in part by a companion SMR on abstraction of this model.