Radionuclide tracing based in situ corrosion and mass transport monitoring of 316L stainless steel in a molten salt closed loop

Wang, Yafei; Olson, Aeli P.; Falconer, Cody; Kelleher, Brian; Mitchell, Ivan; Zhang, Hongliang; Sridharan, Kumar; Engle, Jonathan W.; Couet, Adrien

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-47259-8

Radionuclide tracing based in situ corrosion and mass transport monitoring of 316L stainless steel in a molten salt closed loop

Journal Article · Wed Apr 10 04:00:00 EDT 2024 · Nature Communications

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47259-8· OSTI ID:2472374

^[1]; Olson, Aeli P. ^[2]; Falconer, Cody ^[2]; Kelleher, Brian ^[3]; Mitchell, Ivan ^[2]; ^[2]; Sridharan, Kumar ^[2]; ^[2]; ^[2]

Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ. (China); OSTI
Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
TerraPower LLC, Bellevue, WA (United States)

In the study, we report an in situ corrosion and mass transport monitoring method developed using a radionuclide tracing technique for the corrosion study of 316L stainless steel (316L SS) in a NaCl–MgCl₂ eutectic molten salt natural circulation loop. This method involves cyclotron irradiation of a small tube section with 16 MeV protons, later welds at the hot leg of the molten salt flow loop, generating radionuclides⁵¹Cr,⁵²Mn, and⁵⁶Co at the salt–alloy interface. By measuring the activity variations of these radionuclides at different sections along the loop, both the in situ monitoring of the corrosion attack depth of 316L SS and corrosion product transport and its precipitation in flowing NaCl–MgCl₂ molten salt are achieved. While 316L SS is the focus of this study, the technique reported herein can be extended to other structural materials being used in a wide range of industrial applications.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP); National Science Foundation (NSF); National Natural Science Foundation of China; National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Grant/Contract Number:: NE0008904

OSTI ID:: 2472374

Report Number(s):: DOE/NEUP--NE0008904; PII: 47259

Journal Information:: Nature Communications, Journal Name: Nature Communications Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 15; ISSN 2041-1723

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Radionuclide tracing based in situ corrosion and mass transport monitoring of 316L stainless steel in a molten salt closed loop

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