The microstructure and precipitation effects in Inconel alloy 690.

Failure of Alloy 600 steam generator tubing in Pressurised Water Reactors (PWRs) has prompted the investigation of alloy 690 as an alternative material. Six commercially produced tubes and ten experimentally produced alloys have been examined with varying amounts of carbon, aluminium and titanium. Alloy compositions have been selected to investigate the individual and combined effects of these elements on the microstructure and corrosion behaviour in the environments of corrosion tests and simulated PWR conditions. Alloys were subjected to simulated mill annealing treatments at varied temperatures. Microstructural characterisation using optical and electron microscopy has demonstrated the effects of composition and thermal treatment in controlling grain size and carbide precipitation together with the interdependence between these structural details. Stress corrosion resistance of selected alloy 690 tubes has been examined with samples in an autoclave at fixed temperatures with environments based on pure water, sodium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide + sodium sulphate solutions. Susceptibility to intergranular attack has been related to aluminium contents of the alloy and to thermal treatments given. Results suggest a decreased resistance to IGA when aluminium is increased. Thermal treatments given to the samples appear not to be very significant to the amounts of IGA. The compositions and heat treatments used in the corrosion study were further examined on a dedicated scanning transmission electron microscope in order to correlate the effects of, chromium depletion, nickel enrichment and impurity segregation at grain boundaries, with corrosion characteristics. These results have shown the effect of varying the special thermal treatment temperature and time on the degree of enrichment / depletion / segregation and the corrosion resistance of the alloy. The mechanism of protection afforded by the special thermal treatment can thus be elucidated.