High-temperature creep and corrosion behavior of 316LN stainless steel in oxygen-saturated sodium

• Published in: Nuclear engineering and design 2024-08, Vol.424, p.113288, Article 113288
• Main Authors: Pan, Lingfeng, Gong, Cheng, Xu, Feng, Dai, Yaonan, Zheng, Xiaotao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 316LN; Corrosion; High-temperature creep; SFR; Sodium
• ISSN: 0029-5493; 1872-759X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nucengdes.2024.113288

•A new specimen has been designed that uses only a small amount of sodium (about 20 g) for this work.•The creep behavior of 316LN in oxygen-saturated liquid sodium at high temperatures (650 ℃, 700 ℃ and 750 ℃) is tested and compared with the results of creep tests in air at the same conditions.•The corrosion mechanism of 316LN under external loading in oxygen-saturated sodium is illustrated. The high-temperature performance and sodium corrosion of in-core components are the main problems of liquid sodium-cooled reactors, and low-carbon nitrogen-controlled 316 stainless steel (316LN) is the main research and development direction of the main materials for the core of sodium-cooled fast reactors. In this work, the creep behavior of 316LN in oxygen-saturated liquid sodium at high temperatures (650 ℃, 700 ℃ and 750 ℃) was tested and compared with the results of creep tests in air at the same conditions. It is found that the creep life in the sodium environment is reduced by 63.44%, 67.93% and 40.07%, respectively. The specimens in oxygen-saturated sodium exhibit reduction in ductility, selective dissolution as well as oxidative corrosion. The corrosion mechanism of 316LN under external loading in oxygen-saturated sodium is illustrated.