Copper is the intended canister material for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel in Sweden. At repository depth the groundwater may contain dissolved sulfide. The main goal for this work is to study the tendency for stress corrosion of copper in sulfide solutions and examine the influence of various experimental parameters on stress corrosion. Slow strain rate testing was performed on copper test rods in solutions with 1.0 mM sulfide. The pH was kept near neutral with phosphate or borate buffer. The test matrix included variations in temperature, strain rate, and duration of the tests as well as salt and buffer concentrations. Cross‐sections of the specimens after testing were investigated using scanning electron microscope/energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy detector. Stress–strain curves do not reveal any signs of stress corrosion. However, intergranular corrosion in the shape of crack and pit‐like features developed in all tests with 1.0 mM sulfide. The length of the deepest features in all these tests was of the same order of magnitude (10–20 µm). The suggested mechanism proposes that crack‐like features originate at the surface of the copper metal from the oxidation of grain boundaries that behave as slightly less noble.

Three FeCrAl alloys (APMT, EF100 and EF101) from Kanthal® and the reference Ni‐Cr Alloy 625 were used as weld cladding materials on tube shields in the evaporator tube bank of a waste‐fired combined heat and power plant. For each alloy type, the overlay welded tube shields were placed in both roof and floor positions within the evaporator for 6 months. The metal‐loss rate, the microstructure and hardness of the overlay welds before and after exposure and the corrosion products were analysed. The results showed higher metal‐loss rates in the welds placed in the roof position, confirming heterogeneities in the evaporator bank environment. Alloys were ranked from higher to lower erosion–corrosion resistance as follows: APMT ≈ Alloy 625 > EF101 > EF100. The analysis of the corrosion attacks showed a significant variation among the alloys, from a primarily homogeneous corrosion attack on APMT to intergranular corrosion in EF100 and pit formation in EF101.

In this paper, the traceability of copper from the anode to the cathode and then the wire rod has been studied in terms of impurity content, microstructure, texture, recrystallization kinetics, and ductility. These characterizations were obtained based on secondary ion mass spectrometry, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction, HV hardness, and electron backscattered diffraction. It is shown that the recrystallization was delayed by the total amount of impurities. From tensile tests performed on cold drawn and subsequently annealed wires for a given time, a simplified model has been developed to link tensile elongation to the chemical composition. This model allowed quantification of the contribution of some additional elements, present in small quantity, on the recrystallization kinetics. The proposed model adjusted for the cold-drawn wires was also validated on both the cathode and wire rod used for the study of traceability.

This paper reviews results published by the International Co-operative Programme on Effects on Materials including Historic and Cultural Monuments (ICP Materials) with emphasis on those obtained after the turn of the century. Data from ICP Materials come from two main sources. The first is through exposures of materials and collection of environmental data in a network of atmospheric exposure test sites mainly distributed across Europe. Corrosion of carbon steel has continued to decrease during the period 2000–2020 but corrosion of zinc only up until 2014, and the trend in zinc corrosion is only visible when examining four-year data. Surface recession of limestone as well as soiling of modern glass show no decreasing trend during 2000–2020. The second is through case studies performed at heritage sites across Europe. Risk analysis of corrosion and soiling for twenty-six sites indicate that currently soiling is a more significant maintenance trigger than corrosion. Costs for maintaining heritage sites are substantial and costs attributable to air pollution is estimated from 40% to as much as 80% of the total cost. Future directions of the program are work on effects of particulate matter, improving the scientific basis for the work, and making the monitoring data publicly available.

Low oxygen environments in biomass gasification and the presence of chlorine in feedstocks can influence the corrosion rate of steel by affecting the formation of protective oxide scales. The effect of KCl on the high‐temperature corrosion of low‐alloyed steel (13CrMo4‐5) under low oxygen partial pressure is investigated by KCl salt spray (0.1 mg·cm⁻²) and exposure to 3 vol% H₂ + 30 vol% H₂O + Ar (balance) at 500°C for up to 168 h. Specimens without KCl salt are exposed for reference. Specimens are characterized after exposure by mass change, SEM/EDS, and XRD. KCl‐deposited specimens exhibit about 30% lower mass gain after exposure compared to non‐sprayed specimens. Their scale shows a porous innermost layer and a denser layer on top. No Fe or Cr chlorides are identified. The specimens without salt exhibit a similar two‐layered scale, with a porous inner Fe‐Cr oxide, followed by a denser and thicker Fe‐oxide above. KCl could potentially protect the surface from further degradation by physically covering the specimen, altering the scale morphology, and forming a less permeable barrier, hindering the transport of species through the scale.