The Accelerated corrosion of carbon steel in air-solution alternating condition

気液交番環境における炭素鋼の腐食加速現象

大谷 恭平   ; 塚田 隆 ; 寺門 宙*; 江幡 功栄*; 上野 文義  

Otani, Kyohei; Tsukada, Takashi; Terakado, Hiroshi*; Ebata, Koei*; Ueno, Fumiyoshi

1F PCV内部のロボットによる調査の結果、PCV内壁の炭素鋼の一部は気中と液中が交互に浸漬する環境にあることが明らかになった。先行研究より、乾湿繰り返し環境下において鋼の腐食は加速されることが報告されており、気液交番環境下のPCV内壁部の腐食が加速していることが予想される。しかし、これまでに気液交番環境における鋼の腐食研究は実施されていない。本研究では、炭素鋼が水中と気中を交互に出入りする回転型腐食試験装置を新たに構築し、気液交番環境を模擬した環境での腐食試験を実施した。試験前後の鋼材試験片の質量変化測定より、気液交番環境における鋼の腐食速度は常に水中に浸漬された場合より3倍以上早いことがわかった。回転試験における鋼材が気中に出ている期間は、鋼材表面は完全に乾燥せず薄い水膜が形成している状態にあることを確認した。鋼材は薄い水膜環境におかれることによって気中から鋼材表面への酸素の物質移動量が増大するため、水中に比べると表面に多量の酸素が供給されて酸素還元反応が加速されると報告されている。すなわち、気液交番環境における鋼材は気中に出ている期間の水膜の影響によって酸素還元反応が促進されて、腐食速度が増大したと考えられる。

Inner components of the primary containment vessels (PCVs) in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station was observed by remote-controlled robots and the observation showed that carbon steels of the PCVs wall above the contaminated water level was exposed to an air-solution alternating condition. Previous studies have reported that the corrosion rate of carbon steel is accelerated in case of the steel with thin water film exposed in air under the dry/wet condition. This suggests that the corrosion rate of carbon steel will be accelerated in the air-solution alternating condition. However, the corrosion rate of the steel on the corrosion tests which simulated the air-solution alternating condition has not been clarified. In the present study, a novel corrosion test of carbon steel which simulated the air-solution alternating condition was carried out. In order to simulate the alternating condition in the novel corrosion test, the carbon steel was alternately exposed to air and solution by rotating in a water tank which was not completely filled with solution. The surface observations showed that the rust layer formed on the steel after the tests in the alternating condition was thicker than that of the steel rotated always in solution. The mass loss measurements showed that the corrosion rate of carbon steel in the alternating condition was more than three times larger than that of the steel rotated always in solution. A thin water film was confirmed on the steel when the specimen exposed to the air during the tests. It has been reported that the mass transfer of dissolved oxygen to the carbon steel surface is accelerated in case of the carbon steel covered by a thin water film and corrosion of carbon steel is accelerated by the acceleration of oxygen reduction reaction (cathodic reaction). This suggests that the accelerated corrosion of the steel in the alternating condition would be caused by the thin water film on the steel during the tests.