CORROSION STUDIES FOR A FUSED SALT-LIQUID METAL EXTRACTION PROCESS FOR THE LIQUID METAL FUEL REACTOR

Abstract

Corrosion screening tests were carried out on potential materials of construction for use in a fused salt-liquid metal extraction process plant. The corrodents of interest were NaCl--KCl-- MgCl/sub 2/ eutectic, LiCl--KCl eutectic, Bi-- U fuel, and BiCl/sub 3/, either separately or in various combinations. Screening tests to determine the resistance of a wide range of commercial alloys to the corrodents were performed in static and tilting-furnace capsules. Some ceramic materials were tested in static capsules. Largerscale tests of metallic materials were conducted in thermal convection loops and in a forced circulation loop. Some of the tests were conducted isothermally at 500 deg C, and others were performed under 40 to 50 deg C temperature differences at roughly the same teinperature level. On the basis of metallographic examination of exposed test tabs and chemical analyses of corrodents, it was found that the binary and ternary eutectics by themselves produced little attack on any of the materials tested. A wide variety of materials including 1020 mild steel, 2 1/4 Cr--1 Mo alloy steel, types 304 (ELC), 310, 316, 347, 430, and 446 stainless steel, 16-1 Croloy, Inconel, Hastelloy C, Inor-8, Mo, and Ta is, therefore, available for further study. Corrosion by the ternary salt-fuel system was characteristic of that produced by the fuel alone. Alloys such as 1020 mild steel, and 1 1/4 Cr--1/ 2 Mo, and 2 1/4 Cr--1 Mo alloy steel, which are resistant to fuel, would be likely choices at present for container materials. BiCl/sub 3/ produced extensive attack on ternary salt-fuel containers when the fuel contained insufficient concentrations of oxidizable solutes. Au and Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ were the only materials not attacked by BiCl/sub 3/ in ternary salt alone. (auth)