CORROSION CONTROL OF STEEL-COMPONENTS EXPOSED TO THERMAL CYCLING USING RADIOACTIVE-TRACERS

The aim of the experiments presented in this paper was to choose from the project-recommended types of steel, the most suitable one for manu facturing the inner surfaces of the fire tube of an inert gas generato r (IGG). Typically, such generators are used on oil tankers for mainta ining an inert gas cushion above the oil's surface in order to prevent accidental combustion. For this approach, we employed the Thm Layer A ctivation (TLA) technique. Several steel samples have been activated e ither by 14 MeV proton or 8.5-12.5 MeV deuteron beams. The principle o f measuring method, including the calibration procedure for transformi ng the resulted decreases in radioactivity into material loss data, ha ve been presented in detail in the paper. The real working conditions- exposure to H2O, CO2, and SOx compounds (ca. 1-2.5% in regular Diesel oil) having temperatures up to 700 degrees C were assured by mounting the steel samples in a similar tube to the one used offshore. For high accuracy results, the experiment required a dedicated calibration set -up, designed particularly for this application. The main outcome of t he experiment was a classification of the different kinds of steels us ed (brands and/or manufacturers will not be specified in the paper) in accordance with the resistance to erosive corrosion induced by fuel-o il burning products. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserve d.