Depleted uranium hexafluoride (UF6) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s K-25 Site at Oak Ridge, TN has been stored in large steel cylinders which have undergone significant atmospheric corrosion damage over the last 35 years. A detailed experimental program to characterize and monitor the corrosion damage was initiated in 1992.

Large amounts of corrosion scale and deep pits are found to cover cylinder surfaces. Ultrasonic wall thickness measurements have shown uniform corrosion losses up to 20 mils (0.5 mm) and pits up to 100 mils (2.5 mm) deep. Electrical resistance corrosion probes, time-of-wetness sensors and thermocouples have been attached to cylinder bodies. Atmospheric conditions are monitored using rain gauges, relative humidity sensors and thermocouples. Long-term (16 years) data are being obtained from mild steel corrosion coupons on test racks as well as attached directly to cylinder surfaces. Corrosion rates have been found to be intimately related to the times-of-wetness, both tending to be higher on cylinder tops due to apparent sheltering effects. Data from the various tests are compared, discrepancies are discussed and a pattern of cylinder corrosion as a function of cylinder position and location is described.

Subject
Pits, Atmospheric corrosion, Steel surfaces, Sensors, Cylinders, Corrosion rate, Trends, Steel coupons, Corrosion products, Steel, Corrosion data, Corrosion probes, Corrosion coupons
Keywords:
atmospheric corrosion, pitting, mild steel, corrosion probes, time-of-wetness, corrosion coupons, sheltering, condensation, UF6 cylinders
© 1995 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
1995
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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