• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.49-55
• /
• 2024

Stainless 630 (or 17-4PH) is a precipitation-hardening martensitic stainless steel that has excellent mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. These characteristics make the STS630 to be used as a consisting material for various components such as spider, pin, spring, and spring retainer, of the control rod drive mechanism (CRDM) in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). In general, it is well known that the oxide layer of stainless steel consists of a duplex layer, a compact inner layer of FeCr₂O₄ spinel, and a coarse-grained outer layer of Fe₃O₄ spinel in PWR primary coolant condition. However, the characteristics of the oxide layer can be sensitively influenced by various water chemistry conditions such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, dissolved hydrogen, pH, pH adjuster type, and exposure time. In this work, we investigate the corrosion properties of the STS630 as a function of coolant temperature in an NH3 alkaline solution for its boron-free application in a small modular reactor, to confirm the feasibility for usage as a boron-free SMR structural material. As a result, oxide layer of corroded STS630 is consist of double-layer oxides consisting of a Cr-rich dense inner oxide and a Fe-rich polyhedral outer particles like as that in commercial PWR primary coolant. The corrosion rate of STS630 increases with increase in test time and temperature and the corrosion rate-time model equation was developed based on experimental data. Overall, it is expected that the results in this study provides useful data for the corrosion behavior of STS630 in alkaline environments, contributing to the development of selecting suitable materials for SMRs.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.194-198
• /
• 2010

Cubic boron nitride (c-BN) is a promising material for use in many potential applications because of its outstanding physical properties such as high thermal stability, high abrasive wear resistance, and super hardness. Even though 316L austenitic stainless steel (STS) has poor wear resistance causing it to be toxic in the body due to wear and material chips, 316L STS has been used for implant biomaterials in orthopedics due to its good corrosion resistance and mechanical properties. Therefore, in the present study, c-BN films with a $B_4C$ layer were applied to a 316L STS specimen in order to improve its wear resistance. The deposition of the c-BN films was performed using an r.f. (13.56 MHz) magnetron sputtering system with a $B_4C$ target. The coating layers were characterized using XPS and SEM, and the mechanical properties were investigated using a nanoindenter. The friction coefficient of the c-BN coated 316L STS steel was obtained using a pin-on-disk according to the ASTM G163-99. The thickness of the obtained c-BN and $B_4C$ were about 220 nm and 630 nm, respectively. The high resolution XPS spectra analysis of B1s and N1s revealed that the c-BN film was mainly composed of $sp^3$ BN bonds. The hardness and elastic modulus of the c-BN measured by the nanoindenter were 46.8 GPa and 345.7 GPa, respectively. The friction coefficient of the c-BN coated 316L STS was decreased from 3.5 to 1.6. The wear property of the c-BN coated 316L STS was enhanced by a factor of two.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.37 no.5
• /
• pp.625-630
• /
• 2013

The friction behavior of a 60-${\mu}m$-thick anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) film having cylindrical nanopores of 45-nm diameter was investigated as a function of impregnated oil viscosity ranging from 3.4 to 392.6 cSt. Reciprocating ball-on-flat sliding friction tests using a 1-mm-diameter steel ball as the counterpart were carried out with normal load ranging from 0.1 to 1 N in an ambient environment. The friction coefficient significantly decreased with an increase in the oil viscosity. The boundary lubrication film remained effectively under all test conditions when high-viscosity oil was impregnated, whereas it was easily destroyed when low-viscosity oil was impregnated. Thin plastic deformed layer patches were formed on the worn surface with high-viscosity oil without evidence of tribochemical reaction and transfer of counterpart material.

• Journal of Korea Ship Safrty Technology Authority
• /
• s.22
• /
• pp.34-53
• /
• 2007

In the case of hull material. large sized merchant ships are made of steel, on the other hand FRP or wood are used for small sized fishing boats. At present in Korea approximately 88,500 fishing boats are in operation of which 70% are made of FRP In the meantime, stainless steel is frequently used as shaft materials of the small-size FRP fishing boat. Namely, the kinds of shaft materials are STS 304(18Cr-8Ni), STS 316(18Cr-12Ni-2.5Mo steel) and STS 630(17Cr-Ni-Nb steel)etc. Among these things, STS 304 which is the cheapest and having ordinary corrosion resistance is most widely used as 2nd class shaft material. But, using STS 304 for shaft system material of the small-size FRP fishing boat on seawater environments entails a severe corrosion which causes shaft system troubles. Particularly, the corrosions tend to be concentrated of the stern and bow side, propeller shaft surface of inside of stern tube and the boat having no stern cooling pipe line system. As a solution for those problems, research on the ways to mitigate corrosion on the part of 2nd class stainless steel shaft have been undertaken. In the result, not only clarification for the reason of corrosion of the part of stainless steel shaft used mainly for the small-size FRP fishing boat was done, but also most optimal corrosion protection system was developed by experimenting shaft's protection simulation based of the electrochemical cathodic protection principle. In addition, verification through the field test on the optimal cathodic corrosion protection method by means of aluminum sacrificial anode was carried out. In this study, effective and economical shaft's protection system is suggested to the small-size FRP fishing boat operator by substantiating the results obtained from the research on the optimal cathodic protection.