Corrosion Testing of NiCrAl(Y) Coating Alloys in High-Temperature and Supercritical Water

Abstract

With the development of Generation IV (Gen IV) nuclear power reactors, materials capable of operating in high-temperature and supercritical water environment are essential. This study focuses on the corrosion behavior of five alloys with compositions of Ni20Cr, Ni5Al, Ni50Cr, Ni20Cr5Al and Ni20Cr10AlY above and below the critical point of water. Corrosion tests were conducted at three different pressures, while the temperature was maintained at 460°C, in order to examine the effects of water density on the corrosion. From the preliminary test results, it was found that the binary alloys Ni20Cr and Ni50Cr showed weight loss above the critical point (23.7 MPa and 460°C). The higher Cr content alloy Ni50Cr suffered more weight loss than Ni- 20Cr under the same conditions. Accelerated weight gain was observed above the critical point for the binary alloy Ni5Al. The combination of Cr, Al and Y in Ni20Cr10AlY provides stable scale formation under all testing conditions employed in this study.