Compatibility of Ti3SiC2 with liquid Pb and PbBi containing oxygen

Ti3SiC2 is considered as a possible pump material for heavy liquid metal (HLM) cooled nuclear systems because it resists oxygen and has high temperature strength. Therefore the material was tested in stagnant lead and lead bismuth containing oxygen at temperatures between 550 and 750 °C up to 4000 h in the Karlsruher COSTA facilities. Two different oxygen concentrations (10−6 and 10−8 wt%) were chosen. During the exposure a thin TiOx-layer was formed at the surface of the specimens. No dissolution attack was observed under these conditions.