Corrosion Performance of Candidate Materials for Canadian Gen IV Supercritical Water Cooled Reactor

To successfully develop advanced nuclear power plants, such as the Canadian supercritical water cooled reactors (SCWR), a large body of knowledge in material’s performance under extreme conditions is needed. This thesis entails the corrosion characterization of four candidate materials, AISI 304, AISI 310, IN 625 and A-286, and subsequent microstructure evaluation of the materials after being exposed to supercritical (SCW), subcritical water (SubCW), and superheated steam for up to 3000 hours. Results show that AISI 304 and A-286 have poor corrosion performance, in terms of the amount of surface oxide formation and weight change, under all conditions due to low chromium content. AISI 310 and IN 625, with higher chromium content, exhibit better corrosion resistance in SCW and SubCW, but in the superheated steam condition some weight loss has been found. Microstructural analysis suggests that both alloy composition and test condition (pressure) contribute to the surface scale formation and stability.