| Abstract Scope |
Molten-salt reactor alloys undergo coupled electrochemical dissolution, elemental depletion, irradiation-enhanced diffusion, and microstructural evolution beyond conventional corrosion models. We present a mesoscale framework coupling rate theory with a grand-potential phase-field formulation to predict irradiation-affected corrosion in conventionally manufactured and additively manufactured 316 stainless steels. Rate theory calculates nonequilibrium vacancy and interstitial populations and their effects on chromium transport, while the phase-field model incorporates multicomponent diffusion, Butler-Volmer reaction kinetics, moving interfaces, and Kirkendall void formation. The framework has been extended to explicitly account for irradiation conditions and associated defect-mediated transport. Model development was closely coordinated with experiments on both material conditions involving simultaneous irradiation and molten-salt exposure. Simulations reproduce the measured acceleration of corrosion under irradiation, including approximately fivefold rate enhancement, and show good agreement with observed chromium depletion and evolving interface morphologies. This validated approach supports comparison of conventionally and additively manufactured alloys and guides materials selection for molten-salt reactors. |