Progress in studying the fretting wear/corrosion of nuclear steam generator tubes

Revealing the fretting failure law and mechanism of steam generator tubes is a critical issue to ensure the safe operation of nuclear power plants. This paper reviews the current understanding of the response of nuclear steam generator tube materials (Alloy 600, Alloy 690 and Alloy 800) to fretting wear, focusing on the effects of environment factors (temperature, pH and oxygen content), mechanical parameters (sliding amplitude, normal force and frequency) and materials state (grain size, carbide volume fraction, size and distribution, and surface treatment). Related characterization work has also been reviewed to discuss the fretting corrosion and failure mechanism of the materials. The future research direction that should be taken for the improvement of the understanding of the fretting wear of steam generator tubes has been suggested. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.