Water chemistry effect on the wear of stainless steel in nuclear power plant

A specific tribometer equipped for electrochemical measurements in pressurized high temperature water (PHTW) is being used to study the effect of the water chemistry on the wear rate of a stainless steel. First results indicate that a slightly acidic pH increases drastically the wear rate compared to slightly alkaline pH. However, this result could not be correlated to an oxidation process due to a lower current value measured during friction. Some hypothesis are presented on the influence of short-length attractive forces in the contact.