Corrosion behaviour of martensitic and austenitic steels in flowing lead–bismuth eutectic

The LINCE loop is a forced convection loop designed for long-term corrosion tests in lead–bismuth eutectic (LBE) at CIEMAT. The LBE volume of in the loop is 250 l and the maximum flow velocity in the region of specimens is approximately 1 m s−1. An oxygen control system has been implemented in the loop.The corrosion behaviour of AISI 316L and T91 steels was investigated in flowing LBE at temperatures of 575 and 725 K for exposure times of 2000, 5000 and 10,000 h. At 575 K, the results showed a good response, with no weight loss detected in any of the materials after exposure to the flowing LBE up to 10,000 h. A similar behaviour was observed for the specimens tested at 725 K during 2000 and 10,000 h. Specimens extracted at intermediate time (5000 h) showed an anomalous behaviour with important weight loss. These specimens were placed at the bottom of the hot test section, and this position probably made them to suffer an accused process of cavitation–erosion.