Chemical and material studies to understand the source of corrosion in the Geological Survey TRIGA Reactor (GSTR) tank liner
- U.S. Geological Survey, Box 25046, MS 424, Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225-0046 (United States)
Corrosion damage to the aluminum tank liner of the GSTR reactor was discovered and samples of various materials were collected for chemical and mineralogical analyses. The following scenario for the corrosion was suggested: 1. Cyclical temperature changes caused the tank liner to change size repeatedly. It extruded tar as it expanded and created voids as it contracted. 2. Hydrostatic pressure forced ground water through openings in the concrete into voids near the bottom of the tank, and overflow introduced tank water at the top of the tank. 3. The expansion-contraction cycle moved the water around the complex, interconnecting systems of voids and, in some locations, caused the tar-to-aluminum bond to fail. 4. Chemical interactions of the water with the tar and concrete supplied the elements capable of corroding the aluminum (e.g., Zn, Cu). 5. The corrosive solution has reacted with the aluminum over the lifetime of the reactor to produce the present corrosion damage. 6. As corrosion pits became holes, reactor tank water entered the voids.
- Research Organization:
- General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21165898
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-09N0295; TOC-20; TRN: US09N0301042478
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 11. biennial U.S. TRIGA users' conference, Washington, DC (United States), 10-13 Apr 1988; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); 3 refs, 3 tabs; Related Information: In: 11. biennial U.S. TRIGA users' conference. Papers and abstracts, 426 pages.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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