Effect of oxygen content in 400 °C super-heated steam on the corrosion resistance of Zr-xSn-0.35Fe-0.15Cr-0.15 Nb alloys

Zr-xSn-0.35Fe-0.15Cr-0.15 Nb (x =1.0, 1.2, wt%) alloys were corroded in deaeration (DE) and 1000 mu g/L oxygen (DO) super-heated steam at 400 degrees C/10.3 MPa to explore the effect of DO content and Sn content on the corrosion resistance of zirconium alloys. Results show that reducing the Sn content from 1.2% to 1.0% inhibits the precipitation of Nb as second phase particles and improves the corrosion resistance of the alloys in DE and DO environments; DO accelerates the corrosion of 1.0Sn and 1.2Sn alloys, however, when Sn content increases from 1.0% to 1.2%, the effect of DO on enhanced corrosion weakens to some extent.

Automated summary

The experimental results showed that reducing the tin content can improve the corrosion resistance of the alloy in deaeration and oxygen-containing environments, while the presence of oxygen accelerated the corrosion rate of the alloy. However, with the increase of tin content, the enhancing effect of oxygen on corrosion weakened to some extent.