THE COMPATIBILITY OF MARTENSITIC STEELS WITH LIQUID PB-17LI

Mass transfer experiments in liquid Pb-17Li have been conducted in an anisothermal container with pure metals, Fe and Cr, and with Fe-Cr ste els (DIN 1.4914 martensitic steel and a ferritic steel; 26%Cr). These experiments have shown that the corrosion rate of pure chromium is one order of magnitude higher than that of pure iron, while the Fe-Cr ste els exhibit a dissolution rate equal to that of pure iron. A mechanism of corrosion of the martensitic steel has been proposed and discussed below: Dissolution of the metallic elements constituting the steel: F e, Cr, etc. Diffusion of the dissolved species in the boundary layer o f liquid metal, with the rate determining step for the whole corrosion mechanism being the diffusion of iron. Diffusion of Cr element in the matrix to the solid/liquid metal interface. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.