Synergistic effect of irradiation and molten salt corrosion: Acceleration or deceleration?

The effect of helium ion irradiation with low and high ion fluences on the corrosion behaviour of nickel-based alloys in FLiNaK molten salt at 700 degrees C was investigated. The microstructure and element distribution were characterized to explore the corrosion behaviour of matrix and grain boundaries. The results showed that irradiation accelerates matrix corrosion in both Inconel 617 and GH3535 alloys. Moreover, the irradiation decelerated and accelerated intergranular corrosion were respectively observed under irradiation with low and high helium ion fluence, which is caused by the combined effects of the self-healing mechanism and diffusion of interstitials and helium atoms.

Automated summary

The study found that helium ion irradiation accelerated the matrix corrosion of nickel-based alloys and led to different rates of intergranular corrosion under low and high ion fluences, due to the combined effects of various factors.