Aluminizing as a Method to Reduce the Degradation of Structural Materials in Molten Lead
摘要
Abstract—The development of materials with enhanced corrosion resistance in molten lead melts and the search for new methods to protect structural materials from corrosion in high-temperature aggressive media is one of the key problems for the successful implementation of fast nuclear reactor technology with a liquid-metal coolant. In this work, we study the following methods for deposition of protective aluminum-containing coatings onto candidate structural materials EP-823sh and 08Kh18N10T, which are promising for use in high-temperature installations: aluminizing in molten aluminum, aluminizing in chloride salt melts with an aluminum fluoride addition, and thermodiffusion aluminizing. The protective effect of the deposited coatings is estimated. Aluminizing in molten aluminum (coating thickness ranging from 30 to 200 μm) is found to cause the formation and development of localized corrosion damage in the subsurface layers of samples. The formed coating has a high oxygen concentration and a nonuniform thickness. Aluminizing in the (LiCl–KCl) + 10 wt % AlF3 melt produces well-adhered coating layers up to 10 μm thick, but sample mass loss due to etching off of the surface of structural materials is detected. Corrosion tests of structural material samples with aluminum-containing coatings in molten lead at 600°C for 100, 250, and 500 h show that thermodiffusion aluminizing is the most promising method. The inner sublayer of an aluminum-containing coating is shown to exert a protective effect: it prevents lead from reaching the substrate material (EP-823sh, 08Kh18N10T).