Additive manufactured ODS-FeCrAl steel achieves high corrosion resistance in lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE)

Developing corrosion resistant alloys used in lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) is essential for lead-cooled fast reactors (LFRs). In this work, additive manufacturing was applied to fabricate oxide dispersion-strengthened FeCrAl steels (ODS and Y-ODS), and the latter contains 1.5 wt.% Y₂O₃ nanoparticles. After exposure in LBE at 450 °C for 1000 hours, both alloys generate a compact, uniform and stable Cr₂O₃/Al₂O₃ protective oxide layer (below 200 nm). Benefits from the quick transient oxidation rate at the initial stage, the oxide layer realizes a slow oxidation kinetics and achieves high corrosion resistance to LBE attack. More importantly, the addition of Y₂O₃ induce the formation of Y-Al-O-type oxide nanoparticles which provides an additional source of Al³⁺ at the interface and promotes the growth of an internal oxide layer within Al₂O₃, and thus subsequently the oxides layer demonstrates remarkable stability. This study highlights the potential application of additive manufacturing in advanced materials for LFRs.