Kinetics of duplex oxide growth on 9Cr steels exposed in CO2: application of dimensional metrology

Investigations into potentially extending the lives of UK advanced gas-cooled reactors have highlighted the need for improved understanding of the long-term oxidation and carburisation of 9Cr ferritic steels. These steels were used in evaporators and primary superheaters and as these are to be used beyond their original design lives, it is necessary to ensure that these degradation routes remain within acceptable levels. A dimensional metrology technique has been applied to archived autoclave samples to measure such damage. These samples had previously been exposed to a range of temperatures, pressures and gas chemistries representative of those experienced by 9Cr steels in CO2-rich AGR gases. Earlier sample assessments had focused on weight change measurements, but the dimensional technique enables measurement of duplex oxide thicknesses around samples and the extraction of related data from longer exposure times. These data also support estimation of the extent of both carbon and oxygen uptake