2021 Volume 70 Issue 12 Pages 462-467
The effects of various environmental factors on the general corrosion of steel in an aqueous chloride solution under gamma-rays irradiation are reviewed, focusing on the experimental results obtained by the author’s group. Under irradiation, the corrosion of steel is accelerated by oxygen and hydrogen peroxide generated by the radiolysis of water. The rate of corrosion under irradiation increase with the concentration of chloride. The corrosion rate under an air atmosphere is higher than that in an Ar-gas atmosphere. The corrosion rate in a N2-gas atmosphere is at an intermediate level between the air atmosphere and the Ar-gas atmosphere. In the Ar-gas atmosphere, the corrosion rate is minimal at around the pH of 8 and maximal at around that of 10. Under irradiation, Br ions greatly accelerate the corrosion even existing in trace amounts in the solution. The corrosion rates of pure iron, SQV2A low alloy steel and SGV480 carbon steel under irradiation are roughly equal.
