Long-term corrosion behaviors of Hastelloy-N and Hastelloy-B3 in moisture-containing molten FLiNaK salt environments

This study investigated long-term corrosion behaviors of Ni-based Hastelloy-N and Hastelloy-B3 under moisture-containing molten alkali fluoride salt (LiF-NaF-KF: 46.5-11.5-42%) environment at an ambient temperature of 700 °C. The Hastelloy-N and Hastelloy-B3 experienced similar weight losses for tested duration of 100-1000 h, which was caused by aggregate dissolution of Cr and Mo into FLiNaK salts. The corrosion rate of both alloys was high initially, but then reduced during the course of the test. The alleviated corrosion rate was due to the depletion of Cr and Mo near surface of the alloys and thus the long-term corrosion rate was controlled by diffusion of Cr and Mo outward to the alloy surface. The results of microstructural characterization revealed that the corrosion pattern for both alloys tended to be intergranular corrosion at early stage of corrosion test, and then transferred to general corrosion for longer immersion hours.