Corrosion of aluminum-clad spent nuclear fuel being stored in the light-water filled basins at the Savannah River Site was first observed in mid-1991. A corrosion surveillance program was initiated at that time in the P, K, and L-Reactor basins and in the Receiving Basin for Offsite Fuels (RBOF). This program verified the aggressive nature of the pitting corrosion and provided recommendations for changes in basin operations to permit extended longer term interim storage.

The changes were implemented during 1994-1996 and have resulted in significantly improved basin water quality with conductivity in the 1-3 μS/cm range. Under these improved conditions, no new pitting has been observed over the last three years. This paper describes the corrosion surveillance program at SRS and what has been learned about the corrosion of aluminum-clad alloys in spent fuel storage pools.

Subject
Pits, Water, Materials, Reactors, Aluminum, Tubes, Slug flow, Deionization, Uranium, Storage, Pitting, Aluminum alloys, Conductivity
Keywords:
Aluminum-clad, pitting corrosion, Savannah River Site (SRS), RBOF, conductivity
© 1997 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).
1997
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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