Hydrazine and Hydrogen Co-injection to Mitigate Stress Corrosion Cracking of Structural Materials in Boiling Water Reactors, (III)

Abstract

The effects of hydrazine on the corrosion of Zircaloy-2 were examined in supercritical water. Hydrazine could be used as a reducing agent to control the corrosive environment for the coolant of boiling water reactors (BWRs). Before the corrosion test, the applicability of supercritical water for corrosion testing of zirconium alloys was studied. Supercritical water was found to be a useful solvent for testing corrosion based on the following facts: (1) the weight gain of Zircaloy-2 in supercritical water followed the same cubic law with the activation energy of 133 kJ/mol as that in water and steam did, and (2) the weight gain in supercritical water at 723 K and 24.5 MPa was more than 8 times greater than that in water at 561 K and 7.8 MPa depending on immersion time. The corrosion tests in supercritical water at 723 K and 24.5 MPa under γ-irradiation for 1,000 h were conducted to study the effects of adding nitrogen and ammonia on the corrosion of Zircaloy-2. Nitrogen and ammonia are decomposed products of hydrazine. The measured weight gain, oxide film thickness, and amount of hydrogen pick-up had slight differences between cases with and without the additives. Based on these data, it was concluded adding hydrazine to the coolant has little influence on the corrosion of Zircaloy-2 used in BWR cores. © 2006 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.