Localized corrosion of a candidate container material for high-level nuclear waste disposal

Journal Article · Sat Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1991 · Corrosion (Houston); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.5006/1.3585280· OSTI ID:7239847

Cragnolino, G A; Sridhar, N ^[1]

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1. Southwest Research Inst., San Antonio, TX (United States)

Localized corrosion is one of the important considerations in the design of metallic containers used for the geologic disposal of high-level nuclear waste. This paper addresses the effect of environmental factors on the localized corrosion behavior of alloy 825, one of the candidate alloys for containers in the Yucca Mountain repository site. A two-level, full factorial experimental design was used to examine the main effects and interactions of chloride, sulfate, nitrate, fluoride, and temperature. This was augmented by additional experiments involving chloride and temperature at several levels. Cyclic, potentiodynamic polarization tests were used to determine the relative susceptibility of the alloy to localized corrosion. Crevice corrosion was detected at chloride levels as low as 20 ppm, and both pitting and crevice corrosion were observed at higher chloride levels. Among the environmental factors, chloride and sulfate were found to be promoters of localized corrosion, while nitrate and fluoride were inhibitors of localized corrosion. The experiments indicated that the electrochemical parameters (e.g., pitting potential, repassivation potential, or the difference between them) were not sufficient indicators of localized corrosion. Instead, the visual observation and electrochemical parameters were combined into an index, termed localized corrosion index (LCI), to quantify the extent of localized corrosion.

• OSTI ID: 7239847
• Journal Information: Corrosion (Houston); (United States), Journal Name: Corrosion (Houston); (United States) Vol. 47:6; ISSN 0010-9312; ISSN CORRA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
053004 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Environmental Aspects-- Design Basis & Hypothetical Accidents-- (1992-)
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360104 -- Metals & Alloys-- Physical Properties
360105 -- Metals & Alloys-- Corrosion & Erosion
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHLORIDES
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
CONTAINERS
CORROSION
CORROSIVE EFFECTS
CREVICE CORROSION
DATA
DESIGN
ELECTROCHEMICAL CORROSION
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
INFORMATION
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MATERIALS TESTING
NUMERICAL DATA
PITTING CORROSION
POLARIZATION
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
STORAGE
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS
TESTING
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE STORAGE
WASTES