Surface Studies of Corrosion of Stainless Steel by Lead-Bismuth Eutectic

There has been a resurgence of interest in the use of Lead/Bismuth Eutectic (LBE) and similar high Z liquid metals as neutron spallation targets and coolants in advanced technology reactors. LBE was used in the Russian Alpha class nuclear submarines, with encouraging results. We have been investigating the corrosion of some western steels by oxygen controlled LBE in a Russian test loop using a number of techniques including SEM, EDAX, and XPS. We shall discuss the effects of surface and near surface preparation and composition on this interesting oxidation/dissolution corrosion system