Corrosion Behaviors of Fe13Cr5Al4Mo Alloy in High-Temperature High-Pressure Water Environments
LIN Xiaodong1, MA Haibin2(), REN Qisen2, SUN Rongrong1, ZHANG Wenhuai1, HU Lijuan1, LIANG Xue3, LI Yifeng1, YAO Meiyi1()
1.Institute of Materials, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200072, China 2.Nuclear Fuel and Materials Department, China Nuclear Power Technology Research Institute, Shenzhen 518026, China 3.Laboratory for Microstructures, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Cite this article:
LIN Xiaodong, MA Haibin, REN Qisen, SUN Rongrong, ZHANG Wenhuai, HU Lijuan, LIANG Xue, LI Yifeng, YAO Meiyi. Corrosion Behaviors of Fe13Cr5Al4Mo Alloy in High-Temperature High-Pressure Water Environments. Acta Metall Sin, 2022, 58(12): 1611-1622.
FeCrAl alloys are promising candidate materials for accident-tolerant-fuel (ATF) claddings owing to their good high-temperature mechanical property, irradiation-swelling resistance, and high-temperature steam-oxidation performance. However, excellent corrosion resistance is also required in high-temperature high-pressure water environments when the alloys are used as ATF claddings. Therefore, in this work, the corrosion behavior of a Fe13Cr5Al4Mo alloy in 360oC, 18.6 MPa deionized water and 360oC, 18.6 MPa, 3.5 mg/L Li + 1000 mg/L B aqueous solution was studied. Results revealed that the weight gain and growth rate of the Fe13Cr5Al4Mo alloy were lower than that of the reference zirconium alloy, indicating a better corrosion property of the Fe13Cr5Al4Mo alloy. Moreover, an oxide film comprising Fe(Cr, Al)2O4 nanospinels formed on the Fe13Cr5Al4Mo alloy in both water environments, and Fe3O4 outer-oxide particles were observed in deionized water. The good corrosion performance of Fe13Cr5Al4Mo alloy was attributed to the compact spinel-oxide film, which could inhibit the diffusion of oxygen ions and metal cations. Adding Li + B into water changed the corrosion weight gain and oxide-film thickness of the Fe13Cr5Al4Mo alloy and impeded the formation of outer-oxide particles, which may be related to the high pH of alkaline Li + B aqueous solution and the interactions between Li+ and B3+.
Table 1 Nominal and measured chemical compositions of Fe13Cr5Al4Mo alloy
Fig.1 Microstructures of Fe13Cr5Al4Mo alloy tube (a) tube dimension and surface sampling position (b, c) surface metallographic images with small and large magnifications, respectively (d) tube dimension and cross-sectional sampling position (e, f) cross-sectional metallographic images with small and large magnifications, respectively (g) secondary electron (SE) image of surface morphology (h) TEM bright field (TEM-BF) image and selected aera electron diffraction (SAED) pattern (inset) of matrix
Fig.2 TEM-BF images of second phase particles (SPPs) 1-3 in Fe13Cr5Al4Mo alloy (a-c) and SAED patterns of SPPs 1-3 (d-f) (The chemical compositions of SPPs with an atomic fraction are listed in the corresponding TEM-BF images)
Fig.3 Weight gain curves of Fe13Cr5Al4Mo and Zr-4 alloys exposed to deionized water and Li + B aqueous solution
Fig.4 Surface morphologies of the oxide films formed on the Fe13Cr5Al4Mo alloy after exposure to deionized water (a-c) and Li + B aqueous solution (d-f) for 42 d (a, d), 100 d (b, e), and 250 d (c, f)
Fig.5 Cross-sectional morphologies of the oxide films formed on the Fe13Cr5Al4Mo alloy after exposure to deionized water (a-c) and Li + B aqueous solution (d-f) for 42 d (a, d), 100 d (b, e), and 250 d (c, f)
Water environment
42 d
100 d
250 d
Deionized water
0.52 ± 0.08
1.42 ± 0.80
1.46 ± 0.20
Li + B solution
0.36 ± 0.12
1.11 ± 0.23
1.55 ± 0.75
Table 2 Oxide film thicknesses of Fe13Cr5Al4Mo alloy after exposure to 360oC, 18.6 MPa deionized water and 360oC, 18.6 MPa, 3.5 mg/L Li + 1000 mg/L B aqueous solution for different durations
Fig.6 XRD spectra of Fe13Cr5Al4Mo alloy after exposure to deionized water (a) and Li + B aqueous solution (b) for different durations
Fig.7 Cross-sectional microstructure, element mapping, SAED pattern, and fast Fourier transformation (FFT) result of the oxide film formed on the Fe13Cr5Al4Mo alloy following exposure to deionized water for 100 d (a) high angle annular dark field image under scanning transmission electron microscopy mode (STEM-HAADF image) (b) STEM-HAADF image and element mapping of the selected region in Fig.7a (c) TEM-BF image (d) SAED pattern (e) high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) image of the oxide/matrix (O/M) interface (f) FFT pattern of the oxide corresponding to the rectangle region in Fig.7e
Fig.8 Cross-sectional microstructure, element mapping, SAED pattern, and FFT result of the oxide film formed on the Fe13Cr5Al4Mo alloy following exposure to deionized water for 250 d (a) bright field image under scanning transmission electron microscopy mode (STEM-BF image) and the corresponding element mapping (b) TEM-BF image of oxide film (c) TEM-BF image of the O/M interface (d) SAED pattern of oxide film (e) FFT pattern of outer oxide particle
Fig.9 Cross-sectional microstructure, element mapping, SAED pattern, and FFT result of the oxide film formed on the Fe13Cr5Al4Mo alloy following exposure to Li + B aqueous solution for 100 d (a) STEM-HAADF image (b) STEM-HAADF image and element mapping of the selected region in Fig.9a (c) TEM-BF image (d) SAED pattern (e) HRTEM image of the O/M interface (f) FFT pattern of the oxide corresponding to the rectangle region in Fig.9e
Fig.10 Cross-sectional microstructure, element mapping, and SAED pattern of the oxide film formed on the Fe13Cr5Al4Mo alloy following exposure to Li + B aqueous solution for 250 d (a) STEM-BF image and the corresponding element mapping (b) TEM-BF image (c) SAED pattern
Fig.11 Schematics of corrosion process of the Fe13Cr5Al4Mo alloy in high-temperature high-pressure water environments (a) initial corrosion stage (b) stable corrosion stage in deionized water (c) stable corrosion stage in Li + B aqueous solution
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