Revealing the penetration and distribution of corrosive species

Research Project, 2026 – 2028

The overall purpose of this proposed project is to reveal i) penetration of corrosive species, i.e.,hydrogen, oxygen, sulphur and chlorine into the copper canister material due to exposure tosimulated groundwater, and ii) local distribution of phosphor in the grain boundary of thecopper, by a combination of state-of-the-art high-resolution techniques. Thereby we addresstwo key issues in the SSM call that are of great importance for the long-term safety of deepgeological disposal of highly radioactive nuclear waste. We will utilize time-of-flightsecondary ion mass spectroscopy (ToF-SIMS), and correlative NanoSIMS and transmissionelectron microscopy (TEM), to obtain in-depth profiles and high-resolution 2D and 3D mapsof these species present at different depths into the copper material. In addition, we will performsynchrotron high-energy XRD (HEXRD) measurement of the copper samples to investigatethe corrosion-induced degradation of the copper microstructure. The aim of the project is togain detailed information about the corrosion penetration and distribution of these harmfulspecies in the copper, thus enable the elucidation of complex forms of corrosion mechanismssuch as hydrogen-induced, sulphide-induced, and/or phosphor-induced stress corrosioncracking and embrittlement. This is a collaboration between experts at KTH Royal Institute ofTechnology, Chalmers Technical University, and Lund University, with complimentaryexpertise in corrosion science, SIMS techniques and synchrotron techniques.