• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.113-119
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• 2015

Alloy 82/182 weld metals had been extensively used in joining the components of the PWR primary system. Unfortunately, there have been a number of incidents of cracking caused by PWSCC in Alloy 82/182 welds during the operation of PWR worldwide. To mitigate PWSCC, optimization of water-chemistry conditions, especially dissolved hydrogen (DH) and Zn contents, is considered as the most promising and effective remedial method. In this study, the PWSCC behaviours of Alloy 182 weld were investigated in simulated PWR environments with various DH content. Both in-situ and ex-situ oxide characterizations as well as PWSCC initiation tests were performed. The results showed that PWSCC crack initiation time was shortest in PWR water (DH: 30cc/kg). Also, high stress reduced crack initiation time. Oxide layer showed multi-layered structures consisted of the outer needle-like Ni-rich oxide layer, Fe-rich crystalline oxide, and inner Cr-rich inner oxide layers, which was not altered by the level of applied stress. To analyse the multi-layer structure of oxides, EIS measurement were fitted into an equivalent circuit model. Further analyses including TEM and EDS are underway to verify appropriateness of the equivalent circuit model.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.44-54
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• 2023

The rupture disk corrosion test (RDCT) method was recently developed to evaluate stress corrosion cracking (SCC) and was found to have great potential for the real-time detection of SCC initiation in a high temperature and pressure environment, simulating the primary water coolant of pressurized water reactors. However, it is difficult to directly measure the stress applied to a disk specimen, which is an essential factor in SCC initiation. In this work, finite element analysis (FEA) was performed using ABAQUS^TM to calculate the stress and deformation of a disk specimen. To determine the best mesh design for a thin disk specimen, hexahedron, hex-dominated, and tetrahedron models were used in FEA. All models revealed similar dome-shaped deformation behavior of the disk specimen. However, there was a considerable difference in stress distribution in the disk specimens. In the hex-dominated model, the applied stress was calculated to be the maximum at the dome center, whereas the stress was calculated to be the maximum at the dome edge in the hexahedron and tetrahedron models. From a comparison of the FEA results with deformation behavior and SCC location on the disk specimen after RDCT, the most proper FE model was found to be the tetrahedron model.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 1999.10a
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• pp.675-678
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• 1999

Rebar corrosion in concrete containing both chloride ions and calcium nitrite inhibitors were investigated by the various electrochemical methods. Rebar corrosion was accelerated by applying the impressed current to the rebar in concrete. Effect of chloride content and inhibitors on rebar corrosion were evaluated. Accelerated corrosion technique is the method to measure the time to the initiation of cracks of reinforced concretes, by applying constant voltage between rebar and the stainless steel cathedes. The increase of concentration of chloride ions in concrete result in the increase in anodic currents and the reduction of time to crack. However addition of inhibitors did not improve corrosion resistance of rebar in concrete. Rebar corrosion in concrete with chloride ions and inhibitors was also analyzed by the immersed tests though the mesurement of corrosion potentials.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2017.05a
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• pp.97-97
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• 2017

This study investigated the corrosion protection by electrodeposited copper layer on AZ31 Mg alloy with and without additional silver layer by immersion test, salt spray test, OCP transient and potentiodynamic polarization experiment. The single electrodeposited Cu layer on AZ31 Mg alloy showed a nodular structure with many imperfections of crevices between the nodules, which resulted in the fast initiation of pitting corrosion within first few hours of immersion. Double-layer coating of Cu and outer Ag layer slightly increased the initiation time for pitting corrosion. Triple-layer coatings of Cu/Ag/Cu exhibited the most efficient corrosion protection of AZ31 Mg alloy, compared to the single- and double-layer coatings. Surface morphology of the outer Cu layer in the triple-layer was changed from the nodular structure to fine particle structure with no crevices due to the presence of an additional Ag layer. Thus, the improved corrosion resistance of AZ31 Mg alloy by electrodeposited Cu/Ag or Cu/Ag/Cu layers is readily ascribed to the decreased number of imperfections in the electrodeposited layers due to the additional silver layer. It is concluded that the additional silver layer provides many nucleation sites for the second Cu plating, resulting in the formation of finer and denser structure than the first Cu electrodeposit.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.100-107
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• 2005

Reinforcing steel bars in reinforced concrete structures are protected from corrosion by passive film on the steel surface inside concrete with high alkalinity. However, when the passive film breaks down due to chloride ion ingressed into the RC structures, a corrosion initiates at the surface of steel bars. Then, internal pressure by volume expansion of corrosion products in reinforcing bars induces cracking and spalling of cover concrete, which reduces not only durability performance but also structural performance in RC structures. In this paper, a service life prediction of RC structures is carried out by using a micro-mechanics based corrosion model. The corrosion model is composed of a chloride penetration model to evaluate the initiation of corrosion and an electric corrosion cell model and an oxygen diffusion model to evaluate the rate and the accumulated amounts of corrosion. Then, a corrosion cracking model is combined to the models to evaluate critical amount of corrosion product for initiation cracking in cover concrete. By implementing the models into a finite element analysis program, a time and space dependent corrosion analysis and a service life prediction of RC structures due to chloride attack are simulated and the results of the analysis are compared with test results. The effect of crack width on the corrosion and the service life of the RC structures are analyzed and discussed.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.643-671
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• 2015

Chloride induced reinforcement corrosion is widely accepted to be the most frequent mechanism causing premature degradation of reinforced concrete members, whose economic and social consequences are growing up continuously. Prevention of these phenomena has a great importance in structural design, and modern Codes and Standards impose prescriptions concerning design details and concrete mix proportion for structures exposed to different external aggressive conditions, grouped in environmental classes. This paper focuses on reinforced concrete column section load carrying capacity degradation over time due to chloride induced steel pitting corrosion. The structural element is considered to be exposed to marine environment and the effects of corrosion are described by the time degradation of the axial-bending interaction diagram. Because chlorides ingress and consequent pitting corrosion propagation are both time-dependent mechanisms, the study adopts a time-variant predictive approach to evaluate residual strength of corroded reinforced concrete columns at different lifetimes. Corrosion initiation and propagation process is modelled by taking into account all the parameters, such as external environmental conditions, concrete mix proportion, concrete cover and so on, which influence the time evolution of the corrosion phenomenon and its effects on the residual strength of reinforced concrete columns sections.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.16 no.4 s.82
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• pp.549-555
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• 2004

Cement of three alkalinities (equivalent alkalinities of 0.36,0.52 and 0.97) was employed in fabricating a set of classical G109 type specimens. To-date, these have been subjected to a one week wet-one week dry cyclic pending using 15 w/o NaCl solution. At the end of the dry period, potential and macro-cell current were measured to indicate whether the top reinforcing steel was in the passive or active state. Once this bar became active, the specimen was autopsied and the extent of corrosion was documented. Subsequent to visual inspection, concrete powder samples were collected from the upper region of the top rebar trace; and at a certain times concrete cores were taken from non-reinforced specimens. Using these, determinations were made of (1) critical chloride concentration for corrosion initiation ($Cl_{th}^-$), (2) effective chloride diffusion coefficient ($D_e$), and (3) pore water alkalinity ($[OH^-]$). The pore water alkalinity was strongly related to the alkali content of cement that was used in the mix. The chloride concentration, ($Cl^-$), was greater at active than at passive sites, presumably as a consequence of electro migration and accumulation of these species at active site subsequent to corrosion initiation. Accordingly, ($Cl^-$) at passive sites was considered indicative of the threshold concentration fur corrosion initiation. The $Cl_{th}^-$ was increased with increasing Time-to-corrosion ($T_i$). Consequently, the HA(High Alkalinity) specimens exhibited the highest $Cl_{th}^-$ and the NA(Normal Alkalinity) was the least. This range exceeds what has previously been reported in North America. In addition, the effective diffusion coefficient, $D_e$, was about 40 percent lower for concrete prepared with the HA cement compared to the NA and LA(Low Alkalinity) ones.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.265-272
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• 2023

The aim of this study was to develop a new in-situ observation method and instrument in micro-scale to investigate the mechanism of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) initiation of Ni-base alloys in a high temperature water environment of pressurized water reactors (PWRs). A laser confocal microscope (LCM), an autoclave with diamond window view port, and a slow strain-rate tester with primary water circulation loop system were components of the instrument. Diamond window, one of the core components of the instrument, was selected based on its optical, chemical, and mechanical properties. LCM was used to observe the specimen in micro-scale, considering the experimental condition of a high-temperature primary water environment. Using in-situ method and instrument, it is possible to observe oxidation and deformation of specimen surface in micro-scale through the diamond window in a high-temperature primary water in real-time. The in-situ method and instrument developed in this work can be utilized to investigate effects of various factors on SCC initiation in a high-temperature water environment.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.595-603
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• 2010

Monte-Carlo simulation technique is often used in order to predict service life of concrete structure subjected to chloride penetration in marine environment based on probability theory. Monte-Carlo simulation method, however, the method gives different results every time that the simulation is run. On the other hand, moment method, which is frequently used in reliability analysis, needs negligible computational cost compared with simulation technique and gives a constant result for the same problem. Thus, in this study, moment method was applied to the calculation of corrosion-initiation probability. For this purpose, computer programs to calculate failure probabilities are developed using first-order second moment (FOSM) and second-order second moment (SOSM) methods, respectively. From the analysis examples with the developed programs, SOSM was found to give a more accurate result than FOSM does. The sensitivity analysis has shown that the factor affecting the corrosion-initiation probability the most was the cover depth, and the corrosion-initiation probability was influenced more by its coefficient of variation than its mean value.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.69-80
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• 2000

This paper presents the prediction of remaining service life of the concrete due to steel corrosion caused by the following three cases; carbonation, using sea sand and using deicing salts. The assessment of initiation period was generalized considering the existing perdiction models in the literature, corrosion experiment and field assessment. To evaluate the prediction equation of rust growth, the corrosion accelerating experiments was performed. The polarization resistance was measured by potentiostat and the conversion coefficient of polarzation resistance to corrosion rate was determined by the measurement of real mass loss. Chloride content, carbonation, cover depth, relative humidity, water-cement ratio(W/C), and the use of deicing salts were taken into account and the resulting prediction equation of rust growth was proposed on the basis of these properties. The proposed equation is to predict the rust growth during any specified period of time and be effective in particular for predicting service life of concrete in the case of using sea sand.