Review of the studies on fundamental issues in LBE corrosion

Abstract

Lead bismuth eutectic (LBE) technology is being developed for applications in advanced nuclear systems and high-power spallation neutron targets. In this paper, the current understanding of corrosion and the fundamental issues relevant to corrosion when using LBE as a heavy liquid metal nuclear coolant are reviewed. Corrosion mechanisms and processes in LBE are examined. Prospective methods to mitigate corrosion are briefly surveyed. We then discuss the oxygen control technique for corrosion mitigation in detail, including the range of oxygen concentrations in LBE, oxygen sensors, and the surface oxidation kinetics. Existing experimental results are summarized and reviewed. Theoretical corrosion models for non-isothermal liquid metal loops are refined and compared each other. The applications of these models to a few practical lead-alloy systems are used to illustrate the corrosion mechanisms and the parameter dependency, and to benchmark. Based on the current state of knowledge, a number of R&D tasks are proposed to fill the gaps and firmly establish the scientific underpinning before LBE nuclear coolant technology is ready for programmatic and industrial applications.