Evolution of the oxide structure of 9CrODS steel exposed to supercritical water

The corrosion behavior and oxide structure of 9CrODS steel in supercritical water has been studied. Samples were exposed to supercritical water at 500 and 600 °C for times of 2, 4 and 6 weeks. The oxide structure was studied using microbeam synchrotron X-ray diffraction and fluorescence analysis. The 600 °C samples exhibited a three-layer structure with Fe3O4 in the outer layer, a mixture of FeCr2O4 and Fe3O4 in the inner layer, and a mixture of metal and oxide grains (FeCr2O4 and Cr2O3) in the diffusion layer. Between the 2 and 4-week samples exposed to 600 °C supercritical water, a Cr2O3 film appeared at the diffusion layer–metal interface which appears to be associated with slower oxidation of the metal. The 500 °C samples also showed a three-layer structure, but both the outer and inner oxide layers contained mainly Fe3O4, and the diffusion layer contained much fewer oxide precipitates and was a solid solution of oxygen ahead of the oxide front.