Stress corrosion cracking susceptibility of P285NH and API 5L X65 steel grades in the high-level radioactive waste repository cell concept

Since 2014, the concept developed for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste in the French deep geological repository project Cigeo includes a cement-based grout material. This cement-based grout material will be injected between the casing and the claystone to neutralize the potential acidity resulting from the claystone oxidation induced by the drilling process of the disposal cell. In these conditions of pH (around 10.5) and temperature (90 degrees C, maximum expected during the disposal), the metallic materials could be sensitive to stress corrosion cracking (SCC). In this project, different environments (aerated or deaerated, at room temperature or at 90 degrees C) and synthetic solutions are considered to reproduce the different periods expected during the long life repository. The project is based on electrochemical measurements (polarization curves to define the SCC critical domain of potentials), slow strain rate tensile tests, and long-term immersion for crack initiation and propagation tests.