Materials and Processes for Nuclear Energy Today and in the Future

Fanny Balbaud-Célérier is Head of the Corrosion and Materials Behavior research division. She is a Fellow and Research Director of the CEA in the field of corrosion and materials science, and specializes in nonaqueous corrosion phenomena.Céline Cabet has a PhD in Material Science and Engineering, and has worked for the French CEA since 2000. She holds the title of CEA Research Director, and is currently Deputy Head of the Advanced Materials and Processes Research division (SRMA).

• Preface xiFanny BALBAUD-CÉLÉRIER and Céline CABETChapter 1 Materials and Processes for Light Water Reactors 1Jean-Paul MASSOUD and Eric MOLINIÉ1.1 Acronyms 11.2 Introduction with general description of the systems 31.2.1 Pressurized water reactor 31.2.2 Bwr 61.3 Requirements for materials 91.3.1 Brittle fracture 91.3.2 Corrosion 101.4 Material choices and basic properties 121.4.1 Carbon and LASs 141.4.2 Austenitic stainless steels 151.4.3 Nickel base alloys 161.4.4 Other materials 161.5 Fabrication and joining 191.5.1 Forging of Ferritic components: from ingot to component 201.5.2 Casting … to forging 221.5.3 Forging of PWR SG tube bundle 221.5.4 Welding and cladding 231.5.5 Heat treatment 231.5.6 Manufacturing defects (links with fabrication) 241.5.7 Non-destructive testing (links with expected defects) 251.6 Main material limitations 271.6.1 BWRs 271.6.2 PWRs 281.6.3 Irradiation embrittlement 281.6.4 Thermal aging 341.6.5 Stress corrosion cracking 371.6.6 Flow-assisted corrosion 421.6.7 Other main possible mechanisms 431.7 Main material challenges and solutions under evaluation 481.7.1. Precautions to take during manufacturing to ensure the homogeneity of the through wall property of huge components .. 481.7.2 Precautions to take during manufacturing to prevent or mitigate in-service thermal aging, irradiation embrittlement, fatigue and stress corrosion cracking 501.7.3 New possible fabrications under evaluation: hot isostatic pressing and additive manufacturing 541.8 References 55Chapter 2 Materials and Processes for Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing 57Nathalie GRUET, Benoit GWINNER, Pierre LAGHOUTARIS, Beatriz PUGA,Pierre FAUVET, Hervé ANTONY, Valentin ROHR, Eric CAVALETTI,Pierre CHAMBRETTE and Laurent JUNOD2.1 Introduction and general description of systems 572.1.1 Description of the process and the main functions 572.1.2 Description of aging conditions (temperature, nitric acid concentration, etc.) 592.2 Requirements for materials 602.2.1 Functional requirements associated with the process: mechanical resistance, corrosion resistance and erosion resistance 602.2.2 Regulatory context and industrial strategy 612.3 Current material choices, fabrication and joining 632.3.1 Current material choices 632.3.2 Fabrication and joining 652.4 Basic properties 662.4.1 Corrosion of austenitic stainless steels 662.4.2 Corrosion of zirconium 742.5 Parameters influencing corrosion 762.5.1 Corrosion products 772.5.2 Oxidizing ions 792.5.3 Halides (chlorides and fluorides) 832.5.4 Temperature and heat flux 852.5.5 Irradiation 862.5.6 Influence of the metallurgical state (welding) 872.6 Operating experience: some examples 882.6.1 Dissolver wheel 882.6.2 Fission product evaporator–concentrator machines 902.6.3 Zirconium thermosiphons 922.7 New developments 962.8 References 97Chapter 3 Materials and Processes for Geological Disposal of High-level Waste and Spent Fuel 107Fraser KING3.1 Introduction 1073.2 Canister requirements 1093.3 Choice of material, canister design and canister fabrication 1143.4 Environmental conditions 1173.5 Canister performance 1223.5.1 Corrosion performance 1223.5.2 Mechanical performance 1293.5.3 Joint mechanical–corrosion performance 1313.6 Lifetime prediction 1323.7 Outlook 1353.8 References 135Chapter 4 Structural Materials for Sodium Cooled Fast Reactors 145Hayato YAMASHITA and Tai ASAYAMA4.1 Introduction 1454.2 Requirements for structural materials 1484.3 Development of structural materials and evaluation methods 1514.3.1 Creep-fatigue evaluation methods 1514.3.2 Improvement of creep-fatigue properties and materials 1544.3.3 Creep-fatigue damage evaluation for 316FR steel and modified 9Cr-1Mo steel 1574.3.4 Effect of operating environment on creep-fatigue properties 1594.4 Ongoing activities 1654.5 Conclusion 1664.6 References 166Chapter 5 Materials and Processes for Heavy Liquid Metal Cooled Reactors 169Serguei GAVRILOV5.1 Introduction 1695.2 Requirements for materials 1765.3 Material choices and basic properties 1785.4 Fabrication and joining 1815.5 Main material limitations 1825.5.1 Liquid metal corrosion 1825.5.2 Liquid metal embrittlement 1865.5.3 Corrosion fatigue and corrosion creep 1875.5.4 Limitations for material qualification 1885.6 Main material challenges and solutions under evaluation 1895.7 References 193Chapter 6 Materials and Processes for Molten Salts Reactors 197Céline CABET, Yann DE CARLAN and Laure MARTINELLI6.1 Introduction with general description of the systems 1976.1.1 Background 1986.1.2 MSR research emphasis 2006.2 Requirements for materials 2036.2.1 Graphite performance (thermal spectrum) 2036.2.2 Neutron reflector (fast spectrum) 2046.2.3 Structural materials 2046.3 Legacy materials and basic properties 2056.4 Main material limitations 2076.4.1 Corrosion in molten fluorides 2086.4.2 Corrosion in molten chlorides 2126.4.3 Tellurium embrittlement 2146.4.4 Irradiation embrittlement 2156.5 Mitigation of corrosion by salt purification and chemical control 2166.5.1 Molten fluorides 2176.5.2 Molten chlorides 2186.6 Main material challenges and solutions under evaluation 2186.7 References 219Chapter 7 Materials and Processes for Fusion Reactors 225Giacomo AIELLO7.1 Introduction and general description of the systems 2257.2 Requirements for materials 2287.2.1 Requirements for the structural material of the BB system 2287.2.2 Requirements for the materials of the Divertor system 2307.3 Material choices and basic properties 2327.3.1 EUROFER97 as structural material for the BB 2327.3.2 Tungsten and copper-chromium-zirconium as armor and heat sink materials for the Divertor targets 2387.4 Fabrication and joining 2467.4.1 Manufacturing techniques for the BB 2467.4.2 Manufacturing techniques for the Divertor targets 2497.5 Main material limitations and solutions under evaluation 2507.5.1 Limits for structural material EUROFER97 and development of advanced/risk mitigation steels 2517.5.2 Advanced armor and heat sink materials for the Divertor targets 2547.6 References 256Chapter 8 Advanced Materials: Ceramics and Composite Materials 261James BRAUN8.1 Introduction 2618.2 Current interest in nuclear systems 2638.3 Manufacturing and joining 2668.4 Material properties 2698.5 Main challenges and solutions under evaluation 2718.6 References 272Chapter 9 Advanced Materials: Oxide-Dispersion Strengthened Steels 279Satoshi OHTSUKA, Takashi TANNO, Yasuhide YANO and Takeji KAITO9.1 General introduction to the ODS 2799.2 Actual interest in nuclear systems 2809.3 Fabrication and joining 2839.4 Material properties 2869.5 Main material challenges and solutions under evaluation 2929.6 References 293Chapter 10 Materials Discovery 299Andrea JOKISAARI, Cheng SUN and Jian GAN10.1 Materials discovery – numerical design 29910.1.1 What is materials discovery and is it needed in the nuclear industry? 29910.1.2 Historical perspective 30010.1.3 Modern approach 30210.1.4 Future needs 30710.2 Materials discovery – advanced manufacturing processes 30910.2.1 AM technologies 30910.2.2 AM materials under nuclear environments 31210.2.3 Challenges of AM processes for nuclear materials 31610.2.4 Summary 31810.3 Materials discovery – high-throughput characterization 31810.3.1 Material fabrication and sample preparation 31910.3.2 Microstructural characterization 32010.3.3 High-throughput mechanical and corrosion property evaluation 32210.3.4 High-throughput irradiation and characterization 32510.4 Summary 32710.5 References 328List of Authors 337Index 341