Corrosion of steel in elevated temperature aqueous environments is a significant problem in many industries. Therefore,
high-temperature/high-pressure reference electrodes are needed for
various corrosion measurements such as polarization, galvanic corrosion, electrochemical noise measurement, and electrochemical corrosion potential (ECP) measurement. A high-pressure/high-temperature reference electrode has been developed for applications in the primary system of operating nuclear power plants. The electrode has been designed to operate in high radiation environments and is capable of withstanding rapid temperature and pressure transients. Since previous attempts by others to develop
reference electrodes which can operated continuously at 290 C have resulted in electrode failures after less than 3 months of hot operation, the primary focus of the current work has been on the development
of a reference electrode which will operate for an entire fuel cycle (2 years of continuous hot operation).As of the writing of this paper, reference electrodes have been continuously operating for one year and have a projected remaining life of 3 years.