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Title: Electrochemical Testing of Gas Tungsten ARC Welded and Reduced Pressure Electron Beam Welded Alloy 22

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/893361· OSTI ID:893361

Alloy 22 (N06022) is the material selected for the fabrication of the outer shell of the nuclear waste containers for the Yucca Mountain high-level nuclear waste repository site. A key technical issue in the waste package program has been the integrity of the container weld joints. The currently selected welding process for fabricating and sealing the containers is the traditional gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) or TIC method. An appealing faster alternative technique is reduced pressure electron beam (RPEB) welding. It was of interest to compare the corrosion properties of specimens prepared using both types of welding techniques. Standard electrochemical tests were carried on GTAW and RPEB welds as well as on base metal (non-welded) to determine their relative corrosion behavior in simulated concentrated water (SCW) at 90 C (alkaline), 1 M HCI at 60 C (acidic) and 1 M NaCl at 90 C (neutral) solutions. Results show that for all practical purposes, the three tested materials had the same electrochemical behavior in the three tested electrolytes.

Research Organization:
Yucca Mountain Project, Las Vegas, NV (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
NA
OSTI ID:
893361
Report Number(s):
NA; MOL.20060626.0113, DC 47517; TRN: US0605995
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English