Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “STAINLESS STEEL-304L”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

11 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Effect of Low-Temperature Sensitization on the Corrosion Behavior of AISI Type 304L SS Weld Metal in Simulated Groundwater

The manuscript presents the investigations carried out on the effect of low-temperature sensitization (LTS) of 304L SS weld metal on its corrosion behavior in simulated groundwater, for its application as a canister material for long-term storage of nuclear vitrified high-level waste in geological repositories. AISI type 304L SS weld pad was fabricated by multipass gas tungsten arc welding process using 308L SS filler wire. The as-welded specimens were subsequently subjected to carbide nucleation and further to LTS at 500 °C for 11 days to simulate a temperature of 300 °C for 100-year life of the canister in geological repositories. Delta ferrite (δ-ferrite) content of the 304L SS weld metal substantially decreased on carbide nucleation treatment and further only a marginal decrease occurred on LTS treatment. The microstructure of the as-welded consisted of δ-ferrite as a minor phase distributed in austenite matrix. The δ-ferrite appeared fragmented in the carbide-nucleated and LTS-treated weld metal. The degree of sensitization measured by double-loop electrochemical potentokinetic reactivation method indicated an increase in carbide nucleation treatment when compared to the as-welded specimens, and further increase occurred on LTS treatment. Potentiodynamic anodic polarization investigations in simulated groundwater indicated a substantial decrease in the localized corrosion resistance of the carbide-nucleated and LTS 304L SS weld metals, when compared to the as-welded specimens. Post-experimental micrographs indicated pitting as the primary mode of attack in the as-welded, while pitting and intergranular corrosion (IGC) occurred in the carbide-nucleated weld metal. LTS-treated weld metal predominantly underwent IGC attack. The decrease in the localized corrosion resistance of the weld metal after LTS treatment was found to have a direct correlation with the degree of sensitization and the weld microstructure. The results are detailed in the manuscript.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Mechanical Properties and Strain-Induced Martensite Transformation in Cold Rolling of 304L Stainless Steel Plate

In this work, cold rolling behavior of stainless steel 304L is investigated and the effects of different process parameters on the occurrence of strain-induced martensite and mechanical properties are studied. The rolling experiments are conducted under different rolling speeds and reductions in which a set of samples is deformed at room temperature and the other set is first cooled to the temperature of − 10 °C and then rolled. Afterward, the developed microstructures and mechanical properties of the rolled steel are evaluated employing different testing techniques. In order to justify the results, mathematical modeling of cold rolling operation is also performed using Abaqus/Explicit to estimate the distribution of equivalent plastic strain and temperature rise during rolling. The results show that strain-induced martensite may occur during cold rolling and it efficiently alters microstructure and mechanical performance of the rolled plate. The amount of reduction, initial temperature, rolling layout, and, to a lesser extent, rolling speed can affect the kinetics of martensite transformation as well as microstructure and mechanical properties of the rolled steel.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Porous Microcapsule-Based Regenerating Superhydrophobic Coating on 304L SS and Its Corrosion Properties

We report fabrication of a regenerating superhydrophobic coating on 304L stainless steels, with superior corrosion resistance, using porous microcapsules made of calcium hydroxide as a core and a polymeric shell consisting of ethyl cellulose and poly methyl methacrylate. The synthesized microcapsules are characterized using optical, atomic force and scanning electron microscopic techniques, x-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and immersion tests. The diameter of porous and permeable microcapsules ranges from 2 to 20 μm. On immersion of the coated surface in sodium stearate solution, the calcium hydroxide from the core diffuses through the pores of microcapsules and forms nanocrystalline hydrophobic calcium stearate needles pointing outward that repel water molecules. The maximum water contact angle obtained was 155.7° ± 2.05°. The micro-nanoscale roughness of the surface was evident from the AFM measurement. The cross-hatch tape adhesion test confirmed the strong adherence of the superhydrophobic coating. On damage of the superhydrophobic coating, the regeneration is achieved by immersing it in sodium stearate solution for 6 h where a 10° increase in contact angle is observed. Electrochemical studies in 0.1 M NaCl showed significant decrease in the passive current density and a delayed pitting, confirming better corrosion resistance of the coating in chloride environment.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Through-thickness microstructural evolution during grain boundary engineering type thermomechanical processing and its implication on sensitization behavior in austenitic stainless steel

Highlights: • GBE-treated 304L steel exhibits thickness-dependent microstructural evolution. • Degree of sensitization increases from surface to interior in GBE specimen. • Low fractal dimension and large TRD size lead to lesser sensitization at surface. • As-received specimen shows high albeit thickness-independent sensitization behavior. • Higher residual strain leads to higher sensitization at surface of deformed sample. - Abstract: Through-thickness microstructural variations and their synergistic influence on degree of sensitization in grain boundary engineering (GBE) treated 304L stainless steel was compared with solution-annealed and marginally cold-worked (~ 3% thickness reduction) specimens. The solution-annealed specimen has shown higher degree of sensitization due to the presence of lower fraction of Σ3 (as well as other low Σ CSL) boundaries and dominant random high-angle boundaries (RHAGBs) connectivity. However, it has shown thickness-independent sensitization behavior as grain boundary character distribution, residual strain and grain boundary network topology towards thickness direction are similar. Owing to higher residual strain, as revealed by local misorientation analysis, the cold-worked specimen showed maximum degree of sensitization (higher than solution-annealed condition) at surface. The GBE specimen has shown much lower degree of sensitization at surface due to higher-fraction of Σ3 boundaries and discontinuous RHAGBs connectivity. However, increasing fraction of RHAGBs and their connectivity, as confirmed by twinning-related domain and fractal analysis, cause more sensitization at interior of this specimen. In spite of this, the degree of sensitization at the interior of GBE specimen is lower than the solution-annealed or cold-worked specimen. Even though the residual strain in GBE specimen is higher than the solution-annealed condition, the lower degree of sensitization indicates that the grain boundary character distribution and grain boundary network topology have higher implication than residual strain in controlling sensitization.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Effect of stored strain energy heterogeneity on microstructure evolution of 90% cold rolled AISI 304L stainless steel during interrupted annealing treatment

Highlights: • Study of usefulness of stored strain energy distribution map of the material for variable temperature range. • Advantage of using stored strain energy distribution map • Variation observed in stored energy between isothermal annealing treatment and interrupted annealing treatment. - Abstract: This research work is an attempt to understand the effect of stored strain energy heterogeneity over macro-scale, induced during interrupted annealing treatment, on the micro structural evolution in a heavily cold rolled AISI 304L austenitic stainless steel. The cold rolled AISI 304L stainless steel (SS) samples were subjected to different annealing treatments. The microstructures obtained after each annealing treatment were characterized using optical and electron microscopy techniques. Further, an attempt was made to estimate the stored strain energy by a novel approach of micro hardness measurement both over small scale (area 3600 μm{sup 2}) and large scale (area ~0.25 mm{sup 2}). The stored strain energy was determined using hardness values. Using these data, spatial stored strain energy distribution contour maps were created. They were, in turn, used to characterize the local softening behavior both at micro and macro-scale levels after each interrupted annealing treatment. The results showed that, interrupted annealing treatment induces increased stored strain energy heterogeneity after each annealing interruptions. Also, it was possible to determine recrystallization kinetics of the material using stored strain energy map, which helps in designing annealing cycles for achieving ultrafine grained microstructure.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

A New Light Weight Structural Material for Nuclear Structures

Radiation shielding materials are commonly used in nuclear facilities to attenuate the background ionization radiations to a minimum level for creating a safer workplace, meeting regulatory requirements and maintaining high quality performance. The conventional radiation shielding materials have a number of drawbacks: heavy concrete contains a high amount of elements that are not desirable for an effective shielding such as oxygen, silicon, and calcium; a well known limitation of lead is its low machinability and toxicity, which is causing a major environmental concern. Therefore, an effective and environmentally friendly shielding material with increased attenuation and low mass density is desirable. Close-cell composite metal foams (CMFs) and open-cell Al foam with fillers are light-weight candidate materials that we have studied in this project. Close-cell CMFs possess several suitable properties that are unattainable by conventional radiation shielding materials such as low density and high strength for structural applications, high surface area to volume ratio for excellent thermal isolation with an extraordinary energy absorption capability. Open-cell foam is made up of a network of interconnected solid struts, which allows gas or fluid media to pass through it. This unique structure provided a further motive to investigate its application as radiation shields by infiltrating original empty pores with high hydrogen or boron compounds, which are well known for their excellent neutron shielding capability. The resulting open-cell foam with fillers will not only exhibit light weight and high specific surface area, but also possess excellent radiation shielding capability and good processability. In this study, all the foams were investigated for their radiation shielding efficiency in terms of X-ray, gamma ray and neutron. X-ray transmission measurements were carried out on a high-resolution microcomputed tomography (microCT) system. Gamma-emitting sources: 3.0mCi 60 Co, 1.8mCi 137 Cs, 13.5mCi 241 Am, and 5.0mCi 133 Ba were used for gamma-ray attenuation analysis. The evaluations of neutron transmission measurements were conducted at the Neutron Powder Diffractometer beam facility at North Carolina State University. The experimental results were verified theoretically through XCOM and Monte Carlo Z-particle Transport Code (MCNP). A mechanical investigation was performed by means of quasi-static compressive testing. Thermal characterizations were carried out through effective thermal conductivity and thermal expansion analyses in terms of high temperature guarded-comparative-longitudinal heat flow technique and thermomechanical analyzer (TMA), respectively. The experimental results were compared with analytical results obtained from, respectively, Brailsford and Major’s model and modified Turner’s model for verification. Flame test was performed in accordance with United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) standard. CMF sample and a 304L stainless steel control sample were subjected to a fully engulfing fire with an average flame temperature of 800°C for a period of 30 minutes. Finite Element Analysis was conducted to secure the credibility of the experimental results. This research indicates the potential of utilizing the light-weight close-cell CMFs and open-cell Al foam with fillers as shielding material replacing current heavy structures with additional advantage of high-energy absorption and excellent thermal characteristics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Annual Report, Fall 2016: Alternative Chemical Cleaning of Radioactive High Level Waste Tanks - Corrosion Test Results

The testing presented in this report is in support of the investigation of the Alternative Chemical Cleaning program to aid in developing strategies and technologies to chemically clean radioactive High Level Waste tanks prior to tank closure. The data and conclusions presented here were the examination of the corrosion rates of A285 carbon steel and 304L stainless steel exposed to two proposed chemical cleaning solutions: acidic permanganate (0.18 M nitric acid and 0.05M sodium permanganate) and caustic permanganate. (10 M sodium hydroxide and 0.05M sodium permanganate). These solutions have been proposed as a chemical cleaning solution for the retrieval of actinides in the sludge in the waste tanks, and were tested with both HM and PUREX sludge simulants at a 20:1 ratio.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2016

Aluminum and Other Coatings for the Passivation of Tritium Storage Vessels

Using a highly sensitive residual gas analyzer, the off-gassing of hydrogen, water, and hydrocarbons from surface-treated storage vessels containing deuterium was measured. The experimental storage vessels were compared to a low-off-gassing, electro-polished 304L canister. Alternative vessels were made out of aluminum, or were coatings on 304L steel. Coatings included powder pack aluminide, electro-plated aluminum, powder pack chromide, dense electro-plated chromium, copper plated, and copper plated with 25 and 50 percent nano-diamond. Vessels were loaded with low pressure deuterium to observe exchange with protium or hydrogen as observed with formation of HD and HDO. Off gas of D 2 O or possible CD 4 was observed at mass 20. The main off-gas in all of the studies was H 2 . The studies indicated that coatings required significant post-coating treatment to reduce off-gas and enhance the permeation barrier from gases likely added during the coating process. Dense packed aluminum coatings needed heating to drive off water. Electro-plated aluminum, chromium and copper coatings appeared to trap hydrogen from the plating process. Nano-diamond appeared to enhance the exchange rate with hydrogen off gas, and its coating process trapped significant amounts of hydrogen. Aluminum caused more protium exchange than chromium-treated surfaces. Aluminum coatings released more water, but pure aluminum vessels released small amounts of hydrogen, little water, and generally performed well. Chromium coating had residual hydrogen that was difficult to totally outgas but otherwise gave low residuals for water and hydrocarbons. Our studies indicated that simple coating of as received 304L metal will not adequately block hydrogen. The base vessel needs to be carefully out-gassed before applying a coating, and the coating process will likely add additional hydrogen that must be removed. Initial simple bake-out and leak checks up to 350° C for a few hours was found to be inadequate. All of the studies indicated that vessels needed several days of vacuum baking at 350-450° C to fully outgas the residual gases, which were mostly hydrogen. The current standard practice of out-gassing from ultra-clean, electro-polished 304L vessels with both vacuum bake-out and followed by an oxidative bake out to enhance the chromium surface performed the best in these studies.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2018

Design and Development of the R79: A new Type B and IP-1-2-3 Transportation Cask for Historic Waste - 18570

In October 2014, Robatel began the design and development of a new Type B and IP-1-2-3 transportation cask, the R79. This cask is designed to transport 'historical' waste from nuclear power plants, nuclear research labs, and nuclear medical isotope production facilities. This 'historical' waste may consist of activated and/or contaminated components including irradiated metal from decommissioning activities, fuel assembly containers, consumables, dried residues, etc. It may also include dewatered ion exchange resins, dried concentrates (salt, metal oxide, sludge, etc.), and hydrogenous materials. The main isotopes in this waste are Co-60 and Cs-137. The cask is not designed to transport fissile material but a trace quantity of up to 22.5 g is allowed. For ease of loading and unloading, the cask is designed to handle waste prepackaged into standard drums. With a loading capacity of 300 kg (661 lb) and a volume of 350 L (12.3 ft{sup 3}), the R79 cask is well suited to carry small to medium-sized waste shipments. The cask body is constructed of 304L stainless steel, its impact limiters are filled with Robatel's FENOSOL{sup TM} foam, and the shielding material includes Robatel's PNT7{sup TM} compound for its thermal and neutron absorbing properties. The cask is loaded in a dry environment and is designed for road transportation. Some novel features were integrated into the design of this cask. With its impact limiters installed, the cask may be treated as a Type B container. Depending on the result of the gas generation analysis, the cask can be treated as either Type B(U) (no limit of the transport duration) or Type B(M) (transport duration limited to 2 weeks). With the impact limiters removed, the R79 cask functions as an industrial-type package (either IP-1, IP-2, or IP-3 depending on the content classification). This can be advantageous for a number of reasons. First, it takes less time for loading and unloading operations when the impact limiters are not installed. Secondly and more importantly, three industrial-type packages can be transported on the same conveyance compared to two Type B packages. These options allow the shipper more flexibility: if the content meets the lower radiation limits for an industrial type package, more waste can be transported on one shipment. If the content must be classified as Type B, the user only must install the impact limiters prior to shipment. The design and development of this cask was performed in 2015, with the first drop testing beginning in July 2015. The complete design documents were first submitted September 2015. Robatel completed the foam for the impact limiters in October 2016, with the completed impact limiters finished in March 2017. The end of manufacturing, delivery of the cask to our customer, and receipt of the regulatory certificate of approval is scheduled before the end of 2017. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2019

Corrosion Monitoring in an Irradiated/Used Fuel Dry Storage Container - 19193

A corrosion monitoring system was developed to monitor the corrosion behaviour of steel components embedded in the high density concrete of a Dry Storage Container (DSC). The DSC is a free-standing reinforced concrete container, with an inner carbon-steel liner and an outer carbon-steel shell, for the storage, on-site transfer and off-site transportation of irradiated Candu fuel. Normally, uncontaminated concrete is benign with regards to embedded steel components because high alkalinity in the concrete leads to formation of a passive film on the steel surface, which prevents excessive metal loss. However, corrosion of steel in concrete may be promoted by one or more of local concentration of chloride ions or local loss of alkalinity. For the DSC, it is recognized that the above mechanism(s) are unlikely, however, if any did exist, the corrosion mechanisms that could then occur would include corrosion of carbon steel components and stress corrosion cracking of 304L stainless steel components. In order to confirm that these unlikely events are not occurring, Ontario Power Generation has undertaken a project to investigate the corrosion behaviour of metallic components embedded in the DSC's high density concrete. A corrosion monitoring system that can be installed within the concrete space of a DSC was designed and installed to monitor changes in temperature, corrosion potential, corrosion rate, and electrochemical noise. The corrosion monitoring system was commissioned in July 2012, followed by the commencement of monitoring and measurements. The corrosion data, collected for the three years from year 2012 to 2015, were analyzed. It was concluded that the corrosion rates of both carbon steel and stainless steel within the DSC are very low and consistent with the intended minimum operational life of the DSC. The monitoring system as a whole has allowed a systematic and long term judgement regarding the conditions within the DSCs. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2016

Estimating the Penetration Depth and Orientation of Stress Corrosion Cracks Using Time-Reversal Acoustics

Austenitic stainless steels are known to be susceptible to stress corrosion cracking (SCC), which is an aggressive type of corrosion that exists when a material under tensile stress is placed in a corrosive environment. This is of particular concern as the processing (i.e., cold rolling) and construction (welding) of storage canisters produce an inherent residual stress in metals that can lead to SCC. In this context, our objective is to study the formation of stress corrosion cracks within Type 304L stainless steel, which is frequently used in containers for used nuclear fuel disposal. The conditions present in storage canisters (i.e., elevated temperatures, high residual stresses near welds, and exposure to humidity and chloride) make them susceptible to SCC, potentially leading to critical through-wall failure, and thus loss of containment. The timescales on which through-wall failure is expected in a storage canister under typical conditions is on the order of tens of years. While through-wall flaws are catastrophic (e.g., release of helium and fission gases), the long timescales allow for routine inspection, and potentially mitigation, providing methods exist. This paper is focused on the former problem, i.e. detection of SCC, and the development of a tool for inspection of storage canisters. We will discuss the recent work we did on detecting the presence of SCC as well as imaging on its orientation and penetration depth using an acoustic technique developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). This technique has been applied successfully in the laboratory on stainless steel samples with SCC provided by General Electric (GE) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). Recently, we have also demonstrated that this technique can be deployed for field inspections in tight and confined spaces. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗