A mesoscale phase-field model of intergranular liquid lithium corrosion of ferritic/martensitic steels
Abstract A phase-field model is developed to simulate intergranular corrosion of ferritic/martensitic steels exposed to liquid lithium. The chromium concentration of the material is used to track the mass transport within the metal and liquid (corrosive) phase. The framework naturally captures inter...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-06-01
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| Series: | npj Materials Degradation |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41529-025-00616-4 |
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| author | Alexandre Lhoest Sasa Kovacevic Duc Nguyen-Manh Joven Lim Emilio Martínez-Pañeda Mark R. Wenman |
| author_facet | Alexandre Lhoest Sasa Kovacevic Duc Nguyen-Manh Joven Lim Emilio Martínez-Pañeda Mark R. Wenman |
| author_sort | Alexandre Lhoest |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract A phase-field model is developed to simulate intergranular corrosion of ferritic/martensitic steels exposed to liquid lithium. The chromium concentration of the material is used to track the mass transport within the metal and liquid (corrosive) phase. The framework naturally captures intergranular corrosion by enhancing the diffusion of chromium along grain boundaries relative to the grain bulk with no special treatment for the corrosion front evolution. The formulation applies to arbitrary 2D and 3D polycrystalline geometries. The framework reproduces experimental measurements of weight loss and corrosion depth for a 9 wt% Cr ferritic/martensitic steel exposed to static lithium at 600 °C. A sensitivity analysis, varying near-surface grain density, grain size, and chromium depletion thickness, highlights the microstructural influence in the corrosion process. Moreover, the significance of saturation is considered and evaluated. Simulation results show that near-surface grain density is a deciding factor, whereas grain size dictates the susceptibility to intergranular corrosion. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2a7d78891c974edf97f31079a9e83e36 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2397-2106 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Materials Degradation |
| spelling | doaj-art-2a7d78891c974edf97f31079a9e83e362025-08-20T03:21:03ZengNature Portfolionpj Materials Degradation2397-21062025-06-019111810.1038/s41529-025-00616-4A mesoscale phase-field model of intergranular liquid lithium corrosion of ferritic/martensitic steelsAlexandre Lhoest0Sasa Kovacevic1Duc Nguyen-Manh2Joven Lim3Emilio Martínez-Pañeda4Mark R. Wenman5Imperial College London, Centre for Nuclear Engineering, South Kensington CampusDepartment of Engineering Science, University of OxfordUnited Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, Culham CampusUnited Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, Culham CampusDepartment of Engineering Science, University of OxfordImperial College London, Centre for Nuclear Engineering, South Kensington CampusAbstract A phase-field model is developed to simulate intergranular corrosion of ferritic/martensitic steels exposed to liquid lithium. The chromium concentration of the material is used to track the mass transport within the metal and liquid (corrosive) phase. The framework naturally captures intergranular corrosion by enhancing the diffusion of chromium along grain boundaries relative to the grain bulk with no special treatment for the corrosion front evolution. The formulation applies to arbitrary 2D and 3D polycrystalline geometries. The framework reproduces experimental measurements of weight loss and corrosion depth for a 9 wt% Cr ferritic/martensitic steel exposed to static lithium at 600 °C. A sensitivity analysis, varying near-surface grain density, grain size, and chromium depletion thickness, highlights the microstructural influence in the corrosion process. Moreover, the significance of saturation is considered and evaluated. Simulation results show that near-surface grain density is a deciding factor, whereas grain size dictates the susceptibility to intergranular corrosion.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41529-025-00616-4 |
| spellingShingle | Alexandre Lhoest Sasa Kovacevic Duc Nguyen-Manh Joven Lim Emilio Martínez-Pañeda Mark R. Wenman A mesoscale phase-field model of intergranular liquid lithium corrosion of ferritic/martensitic steels npj Materials Degradation |
| title | A mesoscale phase-field model of intergranular liquid lithium corrosion of ferritic/martensitic steels |
| title_full | A mesoscale phase-field model of intergranular liquid lithium corrosion of ferritic/martensitic steels |
| title_fullStr | A mesoscale phase-field model of intergranular liquid lithium corrosion of ferritic/martensitic steels |
| title_full_unstemmed | A mesoscale phase-field model of intergranular liquid lithium corrosion of ferritic/martensitic steels |
| title_short | A mesoscale phase-field model of intergranular liquid lithium corrosion of ferritic/martensitic steels |
| title_sort | mesoscale phase field model of intergranular liquid lithium corrosion of ferritic martensitic steels |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41529-025-00616-4 |
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