PNNL

Abstract

Mechanisms controlling environmental degradation and cracking in light-water-reactor (LWR) systems have been investigated by analytical transmission electron microscopy (ATEM) of cracks and crack tips. The current work focuses on intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) of 300-series, austenitic stainless steels in high-temperature LWR environments. Comparisons are made between cold-worked 304SS containing stress-corrosion cracks produced in a simulated boiling-water-reactor (BWR) environment during crack-growth tests, and a 304SS core component with cracks produced during 26-year BWR service. Similar corrosion products consisting of duplex-layered spinel oxides were found along the walls of open cracks in the service and laboratory test samples. These oxide films consisted of oriented Cr-rich spinel up to ~30 nm thick along the metal crack walls and large-grained Fe-rich spinel at the crack centers. Cracks in the service sample were generally more filled with oxide, perhaps reflecting the much longer times available for corrosion to occur after the crack passage. Crack tips in the BWR top-guide sample exhibited unique and unexpected structures with oxide-filled cracks