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U.S. Department of Energy
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Beryllium Corrosion (Final Technical Report to United States Atomic Energy Commission, April 25, 1962 to April 24, 1963)

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/4130606· OSTI ID:4130606
 [1]
  1. Nuclear Metals, Inc., Concord, MA (United States)
An investigation of the corrosion behavior of beryllium showed that commercial-purity beryllium will survive in 343°C water without significant attack for prolonged periods. The presence of minute amounts of copper in the water has a deleterious effect on corrosion resistance. High-purity beryllium exhibits poor corrosion resistance in high temperature water. However, the material can be improved by alloying. Heat-treated alloys containing 0.4 w/o Ni, 0.2 w/o Ni plus 0.2 w/o Fe, or 0.5 w/o Ni plus 0.5 w/o Fe showed good corrosion resistance in 343 C water. Individual alloy additions to high-purity beryllium of Al, Mg, Mn, Si, Fe, Ni or Cr in amounts comparable to their content in commercial-purity beryllium had no effect in improving the corrosion resistance. The results suggest that a particular combination of elements may be responsible for the fact that the corrosion resistance of commercial purity material is superior to that of high-purity beryllium.
Research Organization:
Nuclear Metals, Inc., Concord, MA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC); European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom)
NSA Number:
NSA-18-004198
OSTI ID:
4130606
Report Number(s):
NMI--1911; EURAEC--804
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English