Effect of temperature on oxygen solubility in molten Pb - Bi eutectic alloy (44.5% Pb - 55.5% Bi)

One of the coolants proposed for accelerator drive systems (ADS) is lead - bismuth eutectic alloy, LBE (44.5%Pb - 55.5%Bi). One of the disadvantages of using this alloy is that it is highly corrosive for structural steels. Then, it is important to maintain a passivation layer of Fe₃O₄ on the structural material. In order to maintain this passivation layer stable avoiding PbO formation, it is necessary to control and monitor oxygen content in LBE. ADS reactors will operate in a wide temperature range: from 300°C to 600°C. For that, the goal of this work is to determine the effect of temperature on oxygen solubility in molten LBE. The proposed method is based on the following electrochemical cell: O₂ (reference mixture), Pt // YSZ // O₂ (LBE) Results for oxygen solubility in LBE at 460, 500 and 540°C have been obtained.