Study of stainless steel corrosion by hydrogen measurement under deoxygenated, low-temperature and basic repository conditions

摘要

Spent fuel assemblies comprising Zircaloy and stainless steel pieces are expected to be disposed of in a deep underground repository. Corrosion is considered to be a leaching source of activated radionuclides such as C-14. Japanese safety assessment has estimated the corrosion rate of stainless steel as 2 x 10(-2) mu m a(-1) based on limited experimental results at 308 K in the presence of 3200 ppm chloride. This corrosion rate corresponds to a leaching period of 8500 years.