Influence of Zn as a spallation product on the behaviour of martensitic steel T91 and austenitic steel 316L in liquid Pb–Bi

The liquid Pb–Bi alloy is proposed as material for the spallation target in hybrid systems. During the spallation process, several chemical elements are produced in the target which could generate specific liquid metal embrittlement phenomena. Among these species, zinc is known as an element which can promote LME (liquid metal embrittlement). Corrosion tests were carried out in liquid Pb–Bi in isothermal static conditions without and with 80 wppm of zinc at 150 °C, 350 °C and 600 °C up to 6000 h. No modification of the corrosion kinetics of T91 martensitic and 316L austenitic steels was observed for either unstressed or U-bend specimens with zinc in Pb–Bi. Moreover, no sign of embrittlement was observed for any of the samples with and without zinc.