Hydrazine and Hydrogen Co-injection to Mitigate Stress Corrosion Cracking of Structural Materials in Boiling Water Reactors, (II)

Abstract

Hydrogen and hydrazine co-injection into a boiling water reactor was considered as a new mitigation method of stress corrosion cracking. To confirm decrease of electrochemical corrosion potential by the reduction of oxygen and hydrogen peroxide in bulk water using reducing agent, reaction of hydrazine with oxygen or hydrogen peroxide under simulated downcomer conditions (temperature: 280°C, duration: 4.2 s and gamma-irradiation) was examined. All the oxygen was consumed above the equivalent concentration for the reaction with oxygen within this short time (gamma-irradiation case) and almost all the hydrogen peroxide was consumed. Reaction rates were accelerated more than five times by gamma-irradiation in each case. Reaction rates with oxygen were compared with other reducing agents such as hydrogen, methanol and ammonia. From the viewpoint of reaction rate and formation of by-product, hydrazine was the most suitable agent.

Using a simple model based on the experimental results, water chemistry for the bottom region was calculated for the case of no hydrogen injection and for the case of 0.2 mmol-kg⁻¹ hydrogen injection into feed water. For both cases, concentrations of dissolved oxygen and hydrogen peroxide were estimated to decrease enough to mitigate SCC, with concentration of ammonia suppressed below the management criteria for reactor water chemistry.

KEYWORDS:

• boiling water reactor
• water chemistry
• stress corrosion cracking
• oxygen
• hydrazine
• hydrogen peroxide
• hydrogen
• gamma-irradiation
• radiolysis