Noninvasive, In Situ Acoustic Diagnosis and Monitoring of Corrosion in Molten-Salt Systems

Diagnosis and monitoring of corrosion at high temperatures are common challenges in many industries, such as conventional power plants and next generation molten-salt reactor (MSR) nuclear power plants. A simple, noninvasive, in situ acoustic technique was developed to monitor wall loss due to corrosion in a model molten-salt vessel, operating at 500°C to 600°C. This work demonstrated the feasibility of high-temperature corrosion monitoring experimentally, and validated the concept with physical and microstructural analysis, modeling, and numerical simulations. The results of this work could form the basis for the development of a general-purpose, extended-range acoustic monitoring and inspection technique for corrosion at high temperatures (with expected upper range of approximately 900°C), which does not currently exist. Such a technique could be critical for the safe operation of MSRs in the future, as well as for rapid, nondestructive testing of new reactor component materials.