Commonly encountered corrosion mechanisms in the nuclear industry

The nuclear industry has experienced several high-profile corrosion incidents due to unique materials or environments, such as the Davis-Bessie plant reactor head incident. However, most corrosion issues plants encounter are similar to those in other industries managing aging infrastructure, albeit often with the added complications of radioactive contamination. This series of failure analysis case study overviews will address environmental degradation mechanisms resulting in failures of components from primary and secondary systems, including heat exchangers, drain lines, and pressurized air hoses. A variety of corrosion mechanisms will be covered, including stress corrosion cracking, dezincification, and microbiologically influenced corrosion.