Long-term service of austenitic steel 1.4571 as a container material for flowing lead–bismuth eutectic

Abstract The performance of the austenitic steel 1.4571 in oxygen-containing flowing lead–bismuth eutectic at 550 °C is analyzed using samples cut from the tubing of the CORRIDA loop after operating times up to 40,000 h. Additionally, cylindrical specimens of the same material that were exposed at 550 °C in the test-sections of the loop were examined. The steel shows selective leaching of nickel or, in a late stage of this process, of nickel and chromium, along with the desired formation of an oxide scale on the steel surface. Both the appearance of selective leaching, especially the observed local damage, and the type of oxide scale formed differed significantly for the tube samples and corrosion specimens.