General and localized corrosion of the drip shield

Abstract

Ti Gr 7 is an extremely corrosion resistant material, with a very stable passive film. Based upon exposures in the LTCTF, it has been determined that the general corrosion and oxidation rates of Ti Gr 7 are essentially below the level of detection. In any event, over the 10,000 year life of the repository, general corrosion and oxidation should not be life limiting. The large separation between measured corrosion and threshold potentials indicate that localized breakdown of the passive film is unlikely under plausible conditions, even in SSW at 120 C. In the future, the pH and current in crevices formed from Ti Gr 7 should be determined experimentally. With exposures of two years, no significant evidence of crevice corrosion has been observed with Ti Gr 16 in SDW, SCW, and SAW at temperatures up to 9O C, though many of the samples have a beautiful green patina. 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.