Corrosion behavior of CLAM steel in static and flowing LiPb at 480 °C and 550 °C

Reduced activation ferritic/martensitic (RAFM) steels are widely regarded as promising structural materials for fusion reactors. So the compatibility of RAFM steel with liquid metal should be investigated. Series corrosion experiments on CLAM steel in static and flowing LiPb with different flowing velocities have been performed both at 480 °C and 550 °C for thousands hours in DRAGON-ST and DRAGON-RT devices, respectively. The results of static experiments showed that the corrosion of CLAM steel was affected obviously by the crucible materials mainly due to the isothermal mass transfer between dissimilar metals during the corrosion process, and also the temperature and flowing velocity effect on the corrosion was also verified in the series experiments. The corrosion of CLAM steel tested in liquid LiPb can be attributed to the corrosion attack on the boundary of grain and the depletion of iron and chromium elements on the surface of CLAM steel after exposure. Further corrosion experiment under longer corrosion time will be carried out in the near future.