Investigation of Thermal Cycling Effect on the Corrosion Behavior of In625 in Solar Salt at 565°C

Kurzfassung

Prolonged operation ofcmolten salt in storage tanks at high temperatures can lead to severe corrosion of steel components in contact with the salt. The corrosion of alloys in nitrate salts presents a significant challenge to the safety, cost, and efficiency of these systems under hightemperature conditions. Although the issue has recently gained attention, further research is needed, particularly for systems operating above 560°C. This study focuses on investigating the corrosion behavior of Inconel 625 (In625), a promising material for solar salt CSP systems, while considering the effects of thermal cycling. Alloy samples are cyclically immersed in and removed from the molten salt and compared with stationary reference samples. Post-experiment analysis involves SEM imaging, descaling methods, and examining salt composition for impurities dissolved from the alloy. The importance of this research lies in understanding how thermal cycling in real-world conditions can differ from the outcomes of long-term corrosion studies, which are typically conducted under static laboratory conditions.