Microelectrochemical and Corrosion Behaviour of Metal Alloy Waste Forms

Abstract

Within the USDOE Fuel Cycle Research and Development Program steel-based alloys have shown promise as potential waste forms for Tc-based waste streams produced from spent fuel processing. Waste stream components are alloyed with steel to create an alloy with a complex microstructure. Surface analytical techniques (SEM, EDS) coupled with long-term corrosion studies and electrochemical techniques have been used to analyze the corrosion behaviour of this material. Due to the complex alloy structure it is difficult to determine which phases are active or passive to corrosion. A microelectrochemical cell system has been employed to isolate and study individual phases and regions to separate their corrosion behaviours. Such analyses lead to a much clearer picture of alloy corrosion processes when coupled with bulk studies.