Effect of Water Chemistry on Stress Corrosion Cracking of T22 Steel Used in Once Through Steam Generator of Nuclear Power

doi:10.11902/1005.4537.2025.298

Journal of Chinese Society for Corrosion and protection

2026, Vol. 46

Issue (4): 1067-1080 DOI: 10.11902/1005.4537.2025.298

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Effect of Water Chemistry on Stress Corrosion Cracking of T22 Steel Used in Once Through Steam Generator of Nuclear Power

WANG Lei¹, TAO Zeyu², LIU Feng³, KUANG Wenjun⁴(

), MA Xin², YAO Yao³, ZHANG Guowei¹

^1.CNNC Xiapu Nuclear Power Co. Ltd., Ningde 355100, China
^2.School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China
^3.China Xi'an Thermal Power Research Institute Co. Ltd., Xi'an 710054, China
^4.School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China

Cite this article:

WANG Lei, TAO Zeyu, LIU Feng, KUANG Wenjun, MA Xin, YAO Yao, ZHANG Guowei. Effect of Water Chemistry on Stress Corrosion Cracking of T22 Steel Used in Once Through Steam Generator of Nuclear Power. Journal of Chinese Society for Corrosion and protection, 2026, 46(4): 1067-1080.

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Abstract

For the known generation IV nuclear power plants, such as high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) and sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs), once-through steam generators typically adopt a reducing all-volatile treatment [AVT(R)] as the feedwater chemistry control strategy. However, this water chemistry induces flow-accelerated corrosion (FAC) for the related structural components, which can result in heat-transfer tube fouling and throttling valve blockage. Oxygenated treatment (OT) is an effective approach to mitigate throttling valve deposition. Nevertheless, the potential impact of increased dissolved oxygen on the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) susceptibility of structural materials remains to be clarified. In this study, the SCC behavior of T22 steel, widely used in the evaporator section of once-through steam generators in Generation IV reactors, was systematically evaluated in conditions of AVT(R), AVT(O), and OT respectively by using slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) tests. The results demonstrate that an increased dissolved oxygen concentration does not significantly alter the oxidation behavior of T22 steel. Importantly, the adoption of oxidizing AVT or OT conditions does not increase the SCC susceptibility of T22 steel. This work provides a technical foundation for addressing throttling valve deposition in once-through steam generators and offers valuable guidance for optimizing feedwater chemistry in generation IV nuclear power systems.

Key words: sodium-cooled fast reactor feed water oxygenation stress corrosion cracking slow strain rate tensile test T22 steel

Received: 16 September 2025 32134.14.1005.4537.2025.298

ZTFLH:

TG174

Corresponding Authors: KUANG Wenjun, E-mail: wjkuang@scut.edu.cn

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	WANG Lei
	TAO Zeyu
	LIU Feng
	KUANG Wenjun
	MA Xin
	YAO Yao
	ZHANG Guowei

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https://www.jcscp.org/EN/10.11902/1005.4537.2025.298 OR https://www.jcscp.org/EN/Y2026/V46/I4/1067

Table 1 Chemical composition of T22 steel used in the test (mass fraction / %)

Fig.1 Original microstructure morphology (a) and room temperature tensile curve (b) of T22 steel

Table 2 Test conditions for safety evaluation of T22 steel in heat exchange tubes

Fig.2 Schematic diagram of samples for scratch measurement (a, b) and size of tensile samples (c) (unit: mm)

Fig.3 SSRT curves at low-temperature (a) and high-temperature (b) with the strain rate of 5 × 10^-8 /s

Fig.4 Surface morphologies of T22 steel after slow strain rate tensile tests under AVT(R)-LT (a), AVT(R)-HT (b), AVT(O)-LT (c), AVT(O)-HT (d), OT (low DO concentration)-LT (e), OT (low DO concentration)-HT (f)

Fig.5 Cross-sectional morphologies of T22 steel after SSRT under AVT(R)-LT (a), AVT(R)-HT (b), AVT(O)-LT (c), AVT(O)-HT (d), OT (low DO concentration)-LT (e), OT (low DO concentration)-HT (f)

Fig.6 SSRT curves at low-temperature (a) and high-temperature (b) with strain rate of 5 × 10^-7 /s

Fig.7 Surface morphologies of failed T22 steel sample under AVT (R)-LT condition: (a) SE image of the sample surface, (b) SE image away from the fracture area, (c) BSE image away from the fracture area, (d) SE image of the fracture area, (e) BSE image of the fracture area

Fig.8 Surface morphologies of failed T22 steel sample under AVT (R)-HT condition: (a) SE image of the sample surface, (b) SE image away from the fracture area, (c) BSE image away from the fracture area, (d) SE image of the fracture area, (e) BSE image of the fracture area

Fig.9 Surface morphologies of failed T22 steel sample under OT (low DO concentration)-LT condition: (a) SE image of the sample surface, (b) SE image away from the fracture area, (c) BSE image away from the fracture area, (d) SE image of the fracture area

Fig.10 Surface morphologies of failed T22 steel sample under OT (low DO concentration)-HT condition: (a) SE image of the sample surface, (b) SE image away from the fracture area, (c) BSE image away from the fracture area, (d) SE image of the fracture area, (e) BSE image of the fracture area

Fig.11 Fracture surface morphologies of T22 steel tested under AVT(R)-LT condition: (a) macrograph, (b, c) partial enlarged detail

Fig.12 Fracture surface morphologies of T22 steel tested under AVT(R)-HT conditio: (a-d) partial enlarged detail, (e) macrograph

Fig.13 Fracture surface morphologies of T22 steel tested under OT (low DO concentration)-LT condition: (a-d) partial enlarged detail, (e) macrograph

Fig.14 Fracture surface morphologies of T22 steel tested under OT (low DO concentration)-HT condition: (a-d) partial enlarged detail, (e) macrograph

Fig.15 Statistics on the fracture types of T22 steel tested under OT (low DO concentration) condition at low-temperature (a) and high-temperature (b)

Fig.16 Cross-sectional morphologies of T22 steel coupons oxidized under AVT(R)-LT (a), AVT(R)-HT (b), AVT(O)-LT (c), AVT(O)-HT (d), OT (low DO concentration)-LT (e), OT (low DO concentration)-HT (f)

Fig.17 XRD patterns of the oxide formed on T22 steel coupons at low-temperature (a) and high-temperature (b)

Table 3 Comparison of tensile test results of T22 steel samples under two conditions

Fig.18 Pourbaix diagram of the iron component in the Fe-Cr binary system at 15 MPa in low-temperature (a) and high-temperature (b) water (Fe[aq]_tot = Cr[aq]_tot = 10^-6 mol/kg H₂O)

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