Corrosion of target and structural materials in water irradiated by an 800 MeV proton beam

摘要

Radiation enhanced, aqueous corrosion of solid neutron-targets such as tungsten or tantalum, or target cladding or structural materials such as superalloys and stainless steels, is a significant concern in accelerator-driven transmutation technologies. In this paper we briefly describe our current methods for control and in situ monitoring of corrosion in accelerator cooling water loops. Using floating, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), we have measured the corrosion rates of aluminum 6061, copper, Inconel 718, and 304L stainless steel in the flow loop of a water target irradiated by a (mu)amp, 800 MeV proton beam. Impedance spectroscopy allows us to model the corrosion process of a material as an equivalent electrical circuit. Thus the polarization resistance, which is inversely proportional to the corrosion rate, can be extracted from the frequency response of a metal specimen. During a three month period, without the use of corrosion mitigation techniques, we observed increases of several orders of magnitude in the water conductivity and the corrosion rates. The increase in corrosion is at least partially attributed to a build up of peroxide in our pseudo-closed loop system. In this paper we also briefly describe our second generation experiments, scheduled to begin in late 1996. In these experiments we plan to measure the corrosion rates of tungsten, tantalum, Inconel 718, 316L and 304L stainless steel, HT-9 austenitic stainless steel, and aluminum 5053. Two or three electrode probes of each material are being placed directly in the proton beam, in a high neutron flux region, or a significant distance from the high radiation area. We will be measuring corrosion rates, changes in pH and conductivity, and we will be establishing parameters for filtration and mitigation of corrosion. We will also discuss our ideas for making in situ measurements of water radiolysis using optical and laser diagnostic techniques.