Characterisation of oxide films formed on steels for corrosion resistance in liquid lead

The mitigation of corrosion in steels in contact with liquid lead is a crucial enabling factor for the deployment of nuclear systems utilising heavy liquid metal coolants. The development of an effective mitigation approach necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the degradation mechanisms that occur in oxide films formed on steel surfaces when they interact with liquid lead at elevated temperatures.
This project will address the following aspects:

• Formation and characterization of oxide films on different austenitic steels and nickel-based alloys in an oxidizing environment at elevated temperatures.
• Corrosion tests in liquid lead.
• The characterization of oxide film degradation by microstructure examination (LOM, profilometry, SEM, EDX).
• The identification and attribution of the underlying mechanism of degradation to explain the obtained results.