Electrochemical behaviour of austenitic stainless steel under tribological stresses and irradiation

International audienceAn experiment was developed to characterise the behaviour of 316 L stainless steel under the combined effects of corrosion, tribology, and irradiation. This original experiment shows that radiolysis, through the production of free radicals and H2O2, leads to an oxidising medium. The electrochemical behaviour of the material from the recorded polarisation curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements indicates that the passive film under irradiation is a Cr oxi-hydroxide layer. The layer has more formative thickness under irradiation. When the irradiation is interrupted, the passive film is identical to that observed before irradiation. The repassivation is faster during irradiation and friction