Additive manufactured ODS-FeCrAl steel achieves high corrosion resistance in lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE)

Developing corrosion resistant alloys used in lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) is essential for lead-cooled fast reactors (LFRs). In this work, additive manufacturing was applied to fabricate oxide dispersion-strengthened FeCrAl steels (ODS and Y-ODS), and the latter contains 1.5 wt.% Y2O3 nanoparticles. After exposure in LBE at 450 °C for 1000 hours, both alloys generate a compact, uniform and stable Cr2O3/Al2O3 protective oxide layer (below 200 nm). Benefits from the quick transient oxidation rate at the initial stage, the oxide layer realizes a slow oxidation kinetics and achieves high corrosion resistance to LBE attack. More importantly, the addition of Y2O3 induce the formation of Y-Al-O-type oxide nanoparticles which provides an additional source of Al3+ at the interface and promotes the growth of an internal oxide layer within Al2O3, and thus subsequently the oxides layer demonstrates remarkable stability. This study highlights the potential application of additive manufacturing in advanced materials for LFRs. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.