An in-situ hydrothermal deposition process was developed to apply a thin film of zirconia (ZrO2) onto structural materials used in Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) as a potential method for mitigating intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC). The coating process has been demonstrated to successfully deposit ZrO2 onto as received interior surface of 304 stainless steel and Alloy 600 tubing. 1 This work reports on the application of this coating process to substrates with different surface conditions including the condition that exists on the surface of the structural material in BWRs. The coatings on as-received and pre-oxidized surfaces showed excellent adhesion while those on the polished are usually worse. Tetragonal dominant ZrO2 was found on stainless steel substrates whereas monoclinic/tetragonal mixed ZrO2 was observed on Alloy 600 substrates. The coating on pre-oxidized stainless steel did not reveal a reduced electrochemical potential (ECP) similarly to that was found in our previous study. 1

Subject
Steel surfaces, Coatings, Intergranular stress corrosion cracking, Stainless alloys, Boiling water reactors, Substrates, Zirconium, Aqueous solutions, Substrate surfaces, Oxide surfaces, Coating adhesion, Zirconium alloys, Stainless steel
Keywords:
zirconia coating, boiling water reactors (BWRs), pre-oxidized stainless steel and Alloy 600, intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC)
© 2007 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).
2007
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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