Corrosion Behaviour Of A Aisi-316 stainless steel Grade Type In Nitrogen Under Pressure (180 Bar) At 515°c.

Abstract : In the framework of research on Generation IV nuclear power plant, French research is focused on Sodium Fast Reactor. In the proposed design, heat exchange between the reactor core and the secondary circuit is performed via the Energy Conversion System (ECS). This specific ECS design involves that sodium (from the core) heat is transferred to gaseous nitrogen (from the secondary circuit) through 2 mm thickness wall channels. The considered material for this application is the 316L stainless steel. However this stainless steel grade has not been studied in nitrogen environment at working conditions (180 bar and 515DC) and few data are available in literature to assess nitriding risk.