Corrosion behavior of alloy 800H (Fe-21Cr-32Ni) in supercritical water

The effect of testing conditions (temperature, time, and oxygen content) and material's microstructure (the as-received and the grain boundary engineered conditions) on the corrosion behavior of alloy 800H in high-temperature pressurized water was studied using a variety of characterization techniques. Oxidation was observed as the primary corrosion behavior on the samples. Oxide exfoliation was significantly mitigated on the grain boundary engineered samples compared to the as-received ones. The oxide formation, including some mushroom-shaped oxidation, is predicted via a combination of thermodynamics and kinetics influenced by the preferential diffusion of specific species using short-cut diffusion paths. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.