Corrosion in Iron and Steel T91 Caused by Flowing Lead–Bismuth Eutectic at 400 °C and 10−7 Mass% Dissolved Oxygen

Abstract

Specimens produced from technically pure iron and two different heats of ferritic/martensitic steel T91 are investigated after exposure to oxygen-containing flowing lead–bismuth eutectic (LBE) at 400 °C, 10−7 mass% dissolved oxygen, and flow velocity of 2 m/s, for exposure times between around 1000 and 13,000 h. The occurring phenomena are analyzed and quantified using metallographic cross sections prepared after exposure. While pure iron mostly shows solution underneath or in the absence of a detached and buckled oxide scale, solution in T91 occurs only in a few spots on the sample surface. However, in the case of one of the investigated heats, a singular event of exceptionally severe solution-based corrosion is observed. The results are compared especially with findings at 450 and 550 °C and otherwise similar conditions as well as austenitic steels tested in the identical experimental run.