Filtern
Erscheinungsjahr
- 2014 (10) (entfernen)
Dokumenttyp
Sprache
- Englisch (10)
Referierte Publikation
- ja (10) (entfernen)
Schlagworte
- Corrosion (10) (entfernen)
When storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) or high-level waste (HLW) is done in dual purpose casks (DPC), the effects of aging on safety relevant DPC functions and properties have to be managed in a way that a safe transport after the storage period of several decades is capable, and can be justified and certified permanently throughout that period. The effects of aging mechanisms (like e.g. radiation, different corrosion mechanisms, stress relaxation, creep, structural changes and degradation) on the transport package design safety assessment features have to be evaluated. The consideration of these issues in the DPC transport safety case will be addressed. Special attention is given to all cask components which cannot be directly inspected or changed without opening the cask cavity, what are the inner parts of the closure system and the cask internals, like baskets or spent fuel assemblies. The design criteria of that transport safety case have to consider the operational impacts during storage. Aging is not subject of technical aspects only, but also of 'intellectual' aspects, like changing standards, scientific/ technical knowledge development and personal as well as institutional alterations. Those aspects are to be considered in the management system of the license holders and in appropriate design approval update processes. The paper addresses issues which are subject of an actual IAEA TECDOC draft 'Preparation of a safety case for a dual purpose cask containing spent nuclear fuel'.
Damage analyses on two heat exchanger units showed that in both cases inappropriate flow conditions of media caused very different failure mechanisms that resulted in irreparable damage. The first incident was the breakdown of an unalloyed steel condenser, which operated in a coal-fired power plant. A considerably high number of tubes successively leaked. Metallography identified lines of segregation in the microstructure of the tube walls, thus, giving evidence that both uniform corrosion and erosion corrosion caused by low-pressure wet steam were the root cause. The second incident was the breakdown of a recuperator made from chromium–nickel steel due to mechanical damage to tubes and baffle. This unit operated as part of a pilot plant to regain heat from the drying process of sewage sludge. It turned out that soiled vapour caused clogging of the cross-sectional area and therefore accelerating the flow velocity of the vapour. This inappropriate operating condition caused the tubes to oscillate so severely that they even banged together. Abrasive wear especially at the intersection through the holes of the baffle damaged the tubes and the whole unit irreparably.
The Stolt Rotterdam tanker ship, filled with nitric acid, was unloading at the Krefeld-Uerdingen terminal on the Rhine River in November 2001. Nitric acid ran out of the stainless steel tanks into the ship's hull and damaged the structural steel. The ship then caught fire and sank at the terminal. Large quantities of nitrogen oxides were emitted, which drifted towards a residential area. Additionally, a mixture of acid and water was introduced into the Rhine River. The area became hazardous to people and the natural environment; however, the imminent danger for the residents and the environment was reduced because of the protective measures against pollution and the good teamwork between local authorities, fire brigades and the Bayer AG company. The acid was drained off of the ship using a controlled discharge of the acid into the river. Through the use of this measure, the ship was salvaged, limiting the pollution to the area and removing the health hazards to the people and the environment. After the ship was salvaged, the river police, along with assistance from the BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, impounded the ship and selected corroded parts for further examination. Some of these components have been examined in detail by the BAM. These material investigations contributed to the elucidation of the origin of the leak in the floor panel. The cause of damage was deemed to be a result of a construction flaw at the enamelled valve on the load and discharge pipes.
The results from the comparative corrosion testing using the original structural steel and 60% acid revealed that the valves began to leak at least 8 h prior to the incident at the terminal.
Investigation on defect morphology and corrosion behaviour of TiMgN hard coatings on steel substrate
(2014)
Nitride hard coatings, such as Titanium nitride and chromium nitride coatings are widely used for applications focussing on wear protection and decorative purposes. Also these coatings are often applied on low alloyed steel substrates. The inevitable contact of the coated components with the environment through pores and coating defects bears the danger of corrosion of the steel substrate followed by further delamination of the coating and a loss of function of the component. A new attempt to increase the corrosion behaviour of those physically deposited hard coating systems is the implementation of magnesium. The positive effect of magnesium could be verified already electrochemically. Performed experiments on TiMgN have shown that corrosion resistance could drastically improved with increasing Mg content of the TiMgN up to 30 at% compared to steel substrates with applied titanium nitride hard coatings. Besides the clarification of the electrochemical and phenomenological effect of the magnesium on the corrosion behaviour, an additional aim of this work is the investigation of the coating defects, defect morphologies and their influence on the local corrosion behaviour. For this the incorporation of the magnesium and its effects on the coating material, the influence of coating growth related defects and the effect of the coating structure on the corrosion behaviour should be experimental examined by using innovative surface and material analysis methods such as FIB and TEM. Furthermore the evolution of the coating defects should be investigated by combing confocal microscopy with a new developed exposure test method using the electrochemical indication test KorroPad. The function of the KorroPad test, which was developed and patented [1] at the BAM for the detection of corrosion sensitive steel surfaces by indicating dissolution of iron ions [1], allows the detection and identification of critical coating defects for further microscopic investigation. Additional to that the KorroPad test simulates an accelerated exposure test by simultaneous absence of the disadvantages of typical short time exposure test like salt spray tests. Thus it allows a monitoring and analysis of the evolution of the critical coating defects and their influence on the local corrosion behaviour and the overall corrosion mechanisms. The results of this work should contribute to the development of new hard coatings with improved corrosion protection properties and also to a better understanding of the corrosion mechanisms of coated steel substrates.
Steel in concrete is protected by the alkaline pore water environment and the resulting formation of a protective passive layer against corrosion. Adverse environmental conditions due to carbonation or chloride ingress can destroy the passive layer on the steel surface. Corrosion processes starting in those areas lead to uniform corrosion or local corrosion like pitting corrosion. In comparison to uniform corrosion pitting corrosion is a form of increased local corrosion and thus leads to a progressive reduction in cross-section of the reinforcing steel. The corrosion products are first absorbed by the pores of the concrete matrix, without causing visible external changes at the concrete surface.
Corrosion resistance of duplex stainless steel (SS) (UNS S32101) and super austenitic SS (UNS NO8031) (Alloy 31) was investigated in crevice conditions in a saline brine. Rubber was used to form a metal/non-metal-crevice confguration. UNS NO8031 did not exhibit any signs of pitting corrosion even by applying potentials much more positive than the corrosion potential.
This study aims to evaluate which of the materials currently available on the market could overcome the Problem of corrosion and withstand highly aggressive conditions in the exploitation of geothermal resources in volcanic environments. Our investigations were triggered by the conditions on Lahendong geothermal field (North Sulawesi, Indonesia): well LHD-23 presents one of the greatest challenges due to its capacity of producing > 20 MWe of energy from a single well and in the same time having very low pH (2-3) and relatively high Chloride (1,500 mg/L) and sulphate (1,600 mg/L) concentration. Three different Steel grades (low-alloyed Steel UNS G41300, stainless Steel UNS S31603 and high-alloyed stainless Steel UNS N08031) were selected, and their corrosion behavior was evaluated by means of short-term electrochemical methods (potentiodynamic polarization) and long-term exposure tests (up to 6 months). The research was carried out in the laboratory under stagnant conditions in the artificial LHD-23 geothermal brine (1,500 mg/L Chlorides, 1,600 mg/L sulphates, pH 2) at 100 °C (100 kPa) and 175 °C (900 kPa), simulating the conditions present at the site.
Sixteen laboratories have performed electrochemical noise (EN) measurements based on two systems. The first uses a series of dummy cells consisting of a 'star' arrangement of resistors in order to validate the EN measurement equipment and determine its baseline noise performance, while the second system, based on a previous round-robin in the literature, examines the corrosion of aluminium in three environments. All participants used the same measurement protocol and the data reporting and analysis were performed with automatic procedures to avoid errors. The measurement instruments used in the various laboratories include commercial general-purpose potentiostats and custom-built EN systems. The measurements on dummy cells have demonstrated that few systems are capable of achieving instrument noise levels comparable to the thermal noise of the resistors, because of its low level. However, it is of greater concern that some of the instruments exhibited significant artefacts in the measured data, mostly because of the absence of anti-aliasing filters in the equipment or because the way it is used. The measurements on the aluminium samples involve a much higher source noise level during pitting corrosion, and most (though not all) instruments were able to make reliable measurements. However, during passivation, the low level of noise could be measured by very few systems. The round-robin testing has clearly shown that improvements are necessary in the choice of EN measurement equipment and settings and in the way to validate EN data measured. The results emphasise the need to validate measurement systems by using dummy cells and the need to check systematically that the noise of the electrochemical cell to be measured is significantly higher than the instrument noise measured with dummy cells of similar impedance.
The process chain for Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) includes tubing for injection of CO2 into saline aquifers. The compressed CO2 is likely to contain specific impurities; small concentrations of SO2 and NO2 in combination with oxygen and humidity are most harmful. In addition, CO2 saturated brine is supposed to rise in the well when the injection process is interrupted. The material selection has to ensure that neither CO2 nor brine or a combination of both will leak out of the inner tubing. In this comprehensive paper the investigated materials range from low-alloy steels and 13% Cr steels up to high-alloy materials. Electrochemical tests as well as long term exposure tests were performed in CO2, in brine and combination of both; pressure was up to 100 bar, temperature up to 60 °C. Whereas the CO2 stream itself can be handled using low alloy steels, combinations of CO2 and brine require more resistant materials to control the strong tendency to pitting corrosion. The corrosion behavior of heat-treated steels depends on factors such as microstructure and carbon content. For different sections of the injection tube, appropriate materials should be used to guarantee safety and consider cost effectiveness.