AN ELECTROCHEMICAL STUDY OF LIQUID AIR INTERFACE CORROSION IN DILUTE HANFORD NUCLEAR WASTE

摘要

Corrosion at the liquid air interface (LAI) could pose threat on the integrity of nuclear waste storage tanks. However, a clear understanding on the initiation mechanism of LAI corrosion is still lacking. This research aimed to identify the key factors, which make the A537 steel susceptible to LAI corrosion and possibly further the understanding of LAI corrosion mechanism. A novel approach was applied to extract the solution in the meniscus region and nitrateitrite concentrations were analyzed subsequently. The susceptibility of A537 steel to crevice corrosion was also evaluated due to the similarity of crevice corrosion to LAI corrosion in that the corrosion propagated in a locally aggressive chemistry. Attempts were made to develop an engineering approach to rapidly evaluate the propensity of nuclear waste tank material to LAI corrosion in various waste simulants.