Galvanic coupling effects on the corrosion behavior of the 6061 aluminum alloy used in research nuclear reactors

Abstract

The 6061 alloy is used in different thermomechanical conditions in research nuclear reactors. Nuclear fuel plates are manufactured by the picture frame technique (PFT) and the 6061 alloy is used as cladding for the nuclear fuel “sandwiches”. After the PFT process, these nuclear plates are placed in a case made of 6061-T6 alloy. In this work, the galvanic effects of coupling the 6061 alloy in the T6 and PFT temper conditions were investigated in different chloride-containing solutions. The results showed that galvanic coupling was favored between the PFT and 6061-T6 alloy. A potential difference of about 50 mV was observed between the temper conditions. This was attributed to differences in β’’ phase density between the two conditions (T6 and PFT) which was indicated by microhardness results. The 6061 alloy in the PFT condition was cathodic in relation to the T6 one. Results from conventional electrochemical techniques were in agreement with the local measurements. Local electrochemical techniques such as the SVET, SECM and LEIS were useful in characterizing the electrochemical behavior of the galvanically coupled alloys.