Electrochemical study of corrosion phenomena in zirconium alloys

Shadow corrosion of zirconium alloy fuel cladding in BWR environments, the phenomenon in which accelerated corrosion is experienced when the cladding surface is in close proximity to other metals, has become a potentially life-limiting issue for BWR fuel. Recent results from experimentation at MIT, Halden, and Studvik suggest that a galvanic coupling drives the phenomenon between the cladding and the adjacent material. However, the actual processes involved are not understood. One key parameter that would help in the understanding of the phenomenon would be a measurement of the actual corrosion current between fuel cladding and adjacent materials in the actual in-reactor environment. The limitations placed on the bum-up of uranium oxide fuel correlates to the amount of corrosion seen through a directly measurable oxide thickness on the waterside of the zirconium alloy cladding. This oxide corrosion product directly correlates to distance from structural components, leading to the effect commonly referred to as shadow corrosion. In recent experiments, Studvik determined that there are large ECP differences associated with Inconel and zirconium alloys that correlate to increased galvanic current density when the materials are coupled.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Treeman, Nicole M

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Ronald G. Ballinger.

• Nuclear Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34442

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/34442