Analysis of Material Loss Behavior According to Long-Term Experiments on LDIE-FAC Multiple Degradation of Carbon Steel Materials

Abstract

Recently, damage caused by liquid droplet impingement erosion (LDIE) in addition to flow-accelerated corrosion (FAC) has frequently occurred in the secondary side steam piping of nuclear power plants, and the damage-occurring frequency is expected to increase as their operating years’ increase. In order to scrutinize its causes, therefore, an experimental study was conducted to understand how the behavior of LDIE-FAC multiple degradation changes when the piping of nuclear power plants is operated for a long time. Experimental results show that more magnetite was formed on the surface of the carbon steel specimen than on the low-alloy steel specimen, and that the rate of magnetite formation and extinction reached equilibrium due to the complex action of liquid droplet impingement erosion and flow-accelerated corrosion after a certain period of time. Furthermore, it was confirmed at the beginning of the experiment that A106 Gr.B specimen has more mass loss than A335 P22 specimen. After a certain period of time, however, the mass loss tends to be the opposite. This is presumed to have resulted from the magnetite formed on the surface playing a role in suppressing liquid droplet impingement erosion. In addition, it was confirmed that the amount of erosion linearly increases under the conditions in which the formation and extinction of magnetite reach equilibrium.