Corrosion and deposition of ferrous alloys in molten lead–bismuth

This paper reports corrosion and deposition data from tests carried out with liquid eutectic lead–bismuth (Pb–55 at.% Bi) filled steel tubes (austenitic and martensitic) under a thermal gradient (500–280 °C) for 3000 h. For the austenitic steel, the surface exposed to Pb–55Bi exhibited a ferritic corrosion layer depleted in nickel and chromium at temperature above 450 °C. In the temperature range 450–360 °C, deposits composed of iron and chromium were found. There is a temperature effect on composition with a change from iron-rich to chromium-rich with decreasing temperature. For the martensitic steel, a corrosion without corrosion layer was observed above 480 °C. Only one type of deposit consisting of 98Fe–2Cr was found in the 400–480 °C temperature range.