Introduction
Nuclear power reactors derive their energy from the fissioning of an actinide-based fuel, in which a fissile isotope of an actinide element – such as U-235 occurring naturally in uranium – captures neutrons and fissions into two elements of lower mass called the fission products, releasing energy and more neutrons to propagate a chain reaction. This fission reaction occurs inside a reactor core that is designed to remove the fission energy as heat and is configured to control the nuclear reactions by optimizing the number of neutrons generated with neutron absorbing devices such as control rods.[1]
Global warming is a growing concern in today’s world. Nuclear energy is a carbon-free source of power and hence is a meaningful option for
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The underlying metal corrodes to re-create the oxide, and thus the metal loss continues. By definition, the rate of FAC depends on the flow velocity. FAC often affects carbon steel piping carrying ultra-pure, deoxygenated water or wet steam. Stainless steel does not suffer from FAC. FAC of carbon steel halts in the presence of small amount of oxygen dissolved in water. FAC rates rapidly decrease with increasing water pH.[2]
FAC is very different from erosion corrosion because the fundamental mechanisms for the two corrosion modes are different. FAC does not involve impingement of particles, bubbles, or cavitation which causes the mechanical wear on the surface. In contrast to mechanical erosion, FAC involves dissolution of normally poorly soluble oxide by combined electrochemical, water chemistry and mass-transfer phenomena. Nevertheless, the terms FAC and erosion are sometimes used interchangeably because the actual mechanism may, in some cases, be unclear.
General Corrosion
There are three main types of