A Review of the Surface Modifications for Corrosion Mitigation of Steels in Lead and LBE

Abstract

The review paper starts with the applications of liquid metals and then concentrates on lead and lead–bismuth eutectic used in Gen IV nuclear reactors and accelerator-driven systems. Key points of degradation modes of austenitic stainless steels and ferritic-martensitic steels, candidates for the structural components, are briefly summarized. Corrosion and liquid metal embrittlement are critical issues that must be overcome. Next, the paper focuses on the strong efforts paid to the mitigation of corrosion and reviews the different solutions proposed for the protection of steels in lead and lead–bismuth eutectic. There exist promising solutions based on protection by deposition of protective coatings or protection by “natural” oxidation resulting from optimized chemical composition of the steels. However, the solutions have to be confirmed especially by longer-term experiments and by additional mechanical testing.