Corrosion and Deposition in Flowing Molten Salt

Molten salt loops are an important tool to understand corrosion in molten salts and to build a working molten salt reactor (MSR). Designers since the MSRE have known that material loss in pipes will likely not be lifetime limiting, but rather material deposition in heat exchangers is the key metric for corrosion, necessitating the use of loops for studying material compatibility. Thermal convection loops have been used for this purpose since the 1950s, and they are still in use today. This talk will present recent work on the design, construction, and operation of flowing molten salt experiments for studying corrosion in molten salt systems including thermal convection loops containing FLiNaK, FLiBe, and FLiBe+UF4 salt, and a pumped loop containing FLiNaK salt with added europium. Results of past experiments will be presented along with historical context, new loop designs, and future prospects.