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Sensitization and Intergranular Corrosion Behavior of High Nitrogen Type 304LN Stainless Steels for Reprocessing and Waste Management Applications

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Abstract

High nitrogen 304LN stainless steels (SS) intended for chloride and nitric acid environments in spent nuclear fuel reprocessing and waste management applications were evaluated for their sensitization and intergranular corrosion (IGC) resistance. For this purpose, high nitrogen (0.132 pct, 0.193 pct and 0.406 pct) containing, impurity-controlled, vanadium-added 304LN SS alloys were developed. For comparison, 304L SS, which is currently used in reprocessing plants, was also studied. These stainless steels were subjected to heat treatment at 948 K (675 °C) for various durations ranging from 1 to 1000 hours and tested for susceptibility to IGC as per ASTM A262 Practice A and E tests. The degree of sensitization was estimated with the double loop electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation technique. The increase in nitrogen content resulted in higher hardness and finer grain size. Based on the detailed microstructural and corrosion studies, it was determined that an addition of 0.132 pct and 0.193 pct nitrogen showed better IGC resistance and an additional increase in nitrogen resulted in deterioration resulting from chromium nitride precipitation, which was confirmed by electrochemical phase separation and X-ray diffraction studies. The onset of desensitization was faster for the alloy with 0.132 pct nitrogen as well as 0.406 pct nitrogen because of the lower nitrogen content in the former case and the finer grain size in the latter case. The higher hardness and superior IGC resistance of 0.132 pct and 0.193 pct nitrogen containing Type 304LN SS suggests the suitability of this alloy for nitric acid- and chloride-containing environments of reprocessing and waste management plants.

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Acknowledgments

The experimental assistance provided by Shri A. Vinod kumar in carrying out heat treatments and IGC testing is gratefully acknowledged. The authors thank Dr. S Murugesan, Physical Metallurgy Division for X-ray diffraction analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Localised Corrosion Section, Corrosion Science and Technology Group, Metallurgy and Materials Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, 603102, TamilNadu, India

    N. Parvathavarthini (Head), U. Kamachi Mudali (Associate Director) & Baldev Raj (Former Director)

  2. Institute of Metal Science, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1574, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Lilyana Nenova (Scientific Assistant)

  3. HNS Group, Institute of Metal Science, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1574, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Chavdar Andreev (Leader)

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  1. N. Parvathavarthini
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  2. U. Kamachi Mudali
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  5. Baldev Raj
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Correspondence to U. Kamachi Mudali.

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Manuscript submitted July 18, 2010.

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Parvathavarthini, N., Kamachi Mudali, U., Nenova, L. et al. Sensitization and Intergranular Corrosion Behavior of High Nitrogen Type 304LN Stainless Steels for Reprocessing and Waste Management Applications. Metall Mater Trans A 43, 2069–2084 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-011-1053-9

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