Effect of surface preparation on the corrosion of austenitic stainless steel 304L in high temperature steam and simulated PWR primary water

• Published in: Corrosion science 2012-03, Vol.56, p.209-216
• Main Authors: Cissé, Sarata, Laffont, Lydia, Tanguy, Benoit, Lafont, Marie-Christine, Andrieu, Eric
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: A. Stainless steel; Applied sciences; Austenitic stainless steels; B. SIMS; B. TEM; C. Oxide coatings; Corrosion; Corrosion environments; Engineering Sciences; Exact sciences and technology; Materials; Mechanical polishing; Mechanics; Mechanics of materials; Metals. Metallurgy; Oxide coatings; Physics; Pressurized water reactors; Production techniques; Secondary ion mass spectroscopy; Simulation; Surface preparation; Surface treatment
• ISSN: 0010-938X; 1879-0496
• DOI: 10.1016/j.corsci.2011.12.007

► Influence of surface preparation. ► Oxide coatings studied by TEM and SIMS. ► Accelerating effect of steam. The corrosion behavior of 304L grade stainless steel (SS) in high-temperature steam and in a simulated Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) is studied. The goal was to characterize the nature of the oxide coating generated during 500 h exposure of samples in a 400 °C steam (200 bar) or a 340 °C simulated PWR. Accelerating the effect of the steam environment as well as the influence of surface preparation have been studied. Two initial sample surfaces were used: mechanical polishing and finishing grinding. Oxide coatings were investigated using TEM imaging coupled with EELS spectroscopy and R – SIMS (Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy).