CORROSION RESEARCH ROUND‐UP

Two main types of corrosion are observed in reactor coolant circuits containing liquid metals. The first is mass transfer, which involves the dissolution of the solid container material in the liquid metal at one part of the circuit and its deposition at another part. The driving force for this transfer is either a thermal or a chemical gradient. Wetting and interfacial tensions are not a major consideration in this type of attack since it has been shown that solution and precipitation can occur with a contact angle of greater than 90° at the container walls.