Wear and corrosion performance of metallurgical coatings in sodium

Abstract

The friction, wear, and corrosion performance of several metallurgical coatings in 200 to 650/sup 0/C sodium are reviewed. Emphasis is placed on those coatings which have successfully passed the qualification tests necessary for acceptance in breeder reactor environments. Tests include friction, wear, corrosion, thermal cycling, self-welding, and irradiation exposure under as-prototypic-as-possible service conditions. Materials tested were coatings of various refractory metal carbides in metallic binders, nickel-base and cobalt-base alloys and intermetallic compounds such as the aluminides and borides. Coating processes evaluated included plasma spray, detonation gun, sputtering, spark-deposition, and solid-state diffusion