Aluminum corrosion in reactor containment environment following a loss of coolant accident (LOCA): High-temperature flow loop tests

Abstract A high-temperature flow loop system was designed to study the effects of buffers agents, temperature and flow conditions on the release of aluminum corrosion products in post-LOCA scenarios. Inductively coupled plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques are used to characterize the aluminum release in solution and the oxide layers formed on the surface. Aluminum release in trisodium phosphate solution is significantly less than in sodium tetraborate solution under same operating conditions. Flow accelerated aluminum release is evident, and power law correlations between the aluminum release rate and mass transfer coefficient are developed, allowing transfer of data between different flow systems.