A Surface Modification of Hastelloy X by a SiC Coating and an Ion Beam Irradiation for a Potential use for Iodine-Sulfur Cycle in Nuclear Hydrogen Production System

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe materials used for the SO3 decomposer in Iodine-Sulfur (IS) cycle for Nuclear Hydrogen Production System require excellent mechanical properties as well as a high corrosion resistance in SO2/SO3 environment at an elevated temperature up to 950°C. So far, no metallic materials have been suggested to be useful in such an environment. A surface modification of Hastelloy X by a SiC coating processed by an electron beam evaporative deposition has been studied in combination with an ion beam mixing (IBM) and an ion beam hammering (IBH). The simply deposited SiC film on the Hastelloy X substrate is easily peeled-off during an annealing at a high temperature due to a huge difference in their coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE), however the SiC coating on Hastelloy X prepared with IBM is sustained above 900 °C when the heating rate is less than 10 °C/min. The process of coating and IBM consists of a thin SiC film deposition, a subsequent N ion beam bombardment, and then an additional deposition of the film to the designed thickness. IBM plays a role of fastening the SiC film on the Hastelloy X substrate until the interfacial reaction takes place. Once the reaction takes place, new phases are developed at the interface under the consumption of the film and the substrate materials, producing a buffer layer. Without IBM, the SiC film tends to be easily detached during an annealing before the interfacial reaction initiates. The SiC film prepared with IBM requires a post-deposition annealing in vacuum for the interfacial reaction. However, the sublimation of SiC film prepared by an electron beam evaporative deposition occurs at the temperature above 900 °Cdecreasing the thickness of the deposited film. The sublimation of the SiC film can be prevented by IBH in which ion beams are bombarded onto the deposited film. This may be attributed to an ion beam bombardment induced densification of the deposited film. The resultant SiC coated Hastelloy X prepared by IBM and IBH exhibits a high corrosion resistance in a sulfuric acid at 300 °C, suggesting a possible application for the IS cycle.