Performance of Aluminide and Cr-Modified Aluminide Pack Cementation-Coated Stainless Steel 304 in Supercritical Water at 700 °C

Abstract

The choice of materials is of great concern in the construction of Gen IV supercritical water reactors (SCWR), particularly the fuel cladding, due to the harsh environment of elevated temperatures and pressures. A material's performance under simulated conditions must be evaluated to support proper material selection by designers. In this study, aluminide and Cr-modified aluminide coated 304, as well as bare stainless steel 304 as a reference material, were tested in supercritical water (SCW) at 700 °C and 25 MPa for 1000 h. The results showed that all three samples experienced weight loss. However, the aluminide coated 304 had 20 to 40 times less weight loss compared to Cr-modified aluminide coated and bare stainless steel 304 specimens, respectively. Based on scanning electron microscope/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis results, spinel and hematite Fe2O3 formed on bare 304 after 1000 h in SCW while alumina was observed on both coated specimens, i.e., aluminide and Cr-modified aluminide surfaces. Oxide spallation was observed on the bare 304 and Cr-modified aluminide surface, contributing to a larger weight loss. Based on the results from this study, pure aluminide coating with Al content of 10–11 wt % demonstrated superior performance than bare 304 and Cr-modified aluminide coated 304.