Plasmachemical Processes of Iron Corrosion in a Moist Air Medium Exposed To Ionizing Radiation of Radioactive Decay

Results are presented of experimental and theoretical computation investigations into the iron corrosion rate in a moist air plasma activated by a stationary high-velocity electron beam as a high-energy ionizing β-radiation simulator. Results are provided for numerical calculations of the spatial distribution of the rate of gas ionization by a high-velocity electron beam in a plasmachemical reactor. Experimental data are presented on the corrosion rate as a function of the high-velocity electron beam current (ionizing radiation intensity) and the duration of plasma treatment of iron samples (level of the absorbed radioactive energy dose). It is shown that in the general case the rate of the radiation plasmachemical iron corrosion depends on both the intensity and the level of the absorbed radioactive energy dose. Results are presented of the analysis of the elemental composition and chemical state of the resultant corrosion products located on the surface and in the depth of the oxidized iron layer of the treated samples.