Accelerated corrosion and oxide dissolution in 316L stainless steel irradiated in situ in high temperature water

Abstract 316L stainless steel samples were irradiated with a proton beam while simultaneously exposed to high temperature water with added hydrogen (320 °C, 3 wppm H2, neutral pH) to study the effect of radiation on stainless steel corrosion. Irradiated samples had thinner and more porous inner oxides with a lower chromium content when compared to unirradiated samples. Observations suggest that depletion of chromium from the inner oxide can be attributed to the dissolution of chromium-rich spinel oxides in irradiated water, leading to an accelerated rate of inner oxide dissolution. Sample areas which were not irradiated, but were exposed to the flow of irradiated water were also found to be porous and deficient in chromium, indicating that these phenomena can be attributed primarily to water radiolysis. A new empirical equation for oxide growth and dissolution is used to describe the observed changes in oxide thickness under irradiation. An experiment in which a stainless steel sample was exposed to high temperature water (320 °C, 3 wppm H2, neutral pH) without irradiation, and then exposed for a second time with irradiation was conducted to observe the effect of irradiation on a pre-formed protective film. After the irradiated exposure, the sample exhibited chromium loss in regions which were directly irradiated, but not on regions exposed only to irradiated water, suggesting that a pre-formed protective oxide may be effective in preventing chromium loss due to irradiated water. Additionally, this observation suggests that enhanced kinetics under irradiation may have accelerated dissolution of chromium from the inner oxide.