Effects of Test Temperature on the Reciprocating Wear of Steam Generator Tubes

  • Hong, J.K. (Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) ;
  • Kim, I.S. (Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)
  • Published : 2002.10.21

Abstract

Steam generators (S/G) of pressurized water reactors are large heat exchangers that use the heat from the primary reactor coolant to make steam in the secondary side for driving turbine generators. Reciprocating sliding wear experiments have been performed to examine the wear properties of Incoloy 800 and Inconel 690 steam generator tubes in high temperature water. In present study, the test rig was designed to examine the reciprocating and rolling wear properties in high temperature (room temperature - $300^{\circ}C$) water. The test was performed at constant applied load and sliding distance to investigate the effect of test temperature on wear properties of steam generator tube materials. To investigate the wear mechanism of material, the worn surfaces were observed using scanning electron microscopy. At $290^{\circ}C$, wear rate of Inconel 690 was higher than that of Incoloy 800. It was assumed to be resulted from the oxide layer property difference due to the a\loy composition difference. Between 25 and $150^{\circ}C$ the wear loss increased with increasing temperature. Beyond $150^{\circ}C$, the wear loss decreased with increasing temperature. The wear loss change with temperature were due to the formation of wear protective oxide layer. From the worn surface observation, texture patterns and wear particle layers were found. As test temperature increased, the proportion of particle layer increased.

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