CORROSION OF MARTENSITIC STEELS IN FLOWING Pb17Li

ABSTRACT Corrosion tests carried out in the CAMILLE loop at 475°C evidence that corrosion rate of martensitic steels is strongly dependent on Pb17Li velocity, suggesting that the rate limiting step is diffusion of dissolved elements in the laminar sub-layer. The comparison of various corrosion data available in the literature corroborates this result. The other parameters also investigated in these studies (metallurgical state, surface preparation, type of steel, position of specimens) comparatively seem to be of minor importance.