Influence of environmental factors on pitting corrosion of copper in an aerobic deep geological repository
Source abstract
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of chloride, pH, and temperature on the pitting corrosion behavior of copper under aerobic deep geological repository (DGR) conditions. Pit initiation and pit propagation were assessed separately based on the copper pitting corrosion mechanism, combining electrochemical tests, surface analyses, and corrosion simulation. The results showed that an increase in chloride concentration promoted pit initiation, whereas at higher concentrations it led to uniform corrosion. Increasing pH enhanced the stability of the passive film, but once the passive film was locally disrupted, pit initiation became possible. Elevated temperature reduced passivity, leading to decreased pit initiation and the predominance of uniform corrosion. Pit propagation was suppressed by chloride, showed little dependence on pH, and was strongly accelerated by temperature. However, corrosion simulation revealed that oxygen depletion in the DGR environment rapidly suppressed pit propagation regardless of temperature. These findings provide insight into the separate roles of environmental factors on pit initiation and pit propagation. Based on this study, copper has a low risk of pitting corrosion in aerobic DGR environments, supporting its suitability as a material for the used fuel container (UFC).
Source: openalex_inverted_index · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Corrosion Behavior and Inhibition · Hydrogen embrittlement and corrosion behaviors in metals · High-Temperature Coating Behaviors
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
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