Corrosion Of Bourre Glass Fibres In Borate Water Solution

BOURRE glass fibres are commonly used as thermal insulation in nuclear power plants. In the event of a loss of coolant accident (LOCA), these fibres can be strongly corroded by the coolant. The pH value of the coolant is stabilised by H3BO3/NaOH buffering systems. Therefore, the chemical durability of BOURRE fibres was tested in the present work. Isothermal single pass-flowthrough leaching tests were conducted. In addition, re-circulating tests were performed with the temperature profile of the leaching medium similar to that in post-LOCA thermal conditions. Glass dissolution was followed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and the corroded surface of the glass fibre was studied by SEM and EDS.