Influence of Cold Work on Corrosion Resistance of Selected Fe-Cr and Fe-Cr-Si Alloys Exposed to SCW

Abstract

Steels with 9 and 14 % of Cr have been recognized as candidates for cladding and core structural components in Generation IV Supercritical Water Reactor concept. Corrosion resistance of these alloys can be affected by surface treatment and careful addition of alloying elements. In this work we report the influence of surface finish of selected binary (Fe-Cr) and ternary (Fe-Cr-Si) alloys on oxidation in supercritical water at 500C. We have found that the rate of oxidation depends on the original microstructure, amount of Cr, presence of the ternary element and type of surface finish. The best oxidation resistance was shown by severely deformed martensitic grains in Fe-14Cr-1.5Si alloy. The worse oxidation resistance was exhibited by ferrite grains in Fe-9Cr alloy with medium level of deformation.