Experimental study on corrosion and precipitation in non-isothermal Pb-17Li system for development of liquid breeder blanket of fusion reactor

The corrosion characteristics of RAFM steel JLF-1 in a non-isothermal Pb-17Li flowing system were investigated by means of the corrosion test using a non-isothermal mixing pot. The corrosion test was performed at 739K with a temperature gradient of 14K for 500 hours. The corrosion tests at a static and a flowing conditions in an isothermal Pb-17Li system were also performed at the same temperature for the same duration with the non-isothermal test. Then, the effect of mass transfer both by the flow and the temperature gradient on the corrosion behaviors was featured by the comparison of these results. The corrosion was caused by the dissolution of Fe and Cr from the steel surface into the flowing Pb-17Li. The specimen surface revealed a fine granular microstructure after the corrosion tests. A large number of pebbleshaped protrusions were observed on the specimen surface. This microstructure was different from the original martensite microstructure of the steel, and might be formed by the influence of the reaction with Li component in the alloy. The formation of the granular microstructure was accelerated by the flow and the temperature gradient. Some pebble-shaped protrusions had gaps at their bases. The removal of these pebble-shaped granules by the flowing Pb-17Li might cause a small-scale corrosion-erosion. The results of metallurgical analysis indicated that a large-scale corrosion-erosion was also caused by their destruction of the corroded layer on the surface. The non-isothermal mixing pot equipped a cold trap by a metal mesh in the low temperature region. The metal elements of Fe and Cr were recovered as they precipitated on the surface of the metal mesh. It was found that a Fe-Cr binary intermetallic compound was formed in the precipitation procedure. The overall mass transfer coefficient for the dissolution type corrosion in the non-isothermal system was much bigger than that in the isothermal system. This model evaluation indicated that the temperature gradient accelerated the corrosion.