Fission reactors and materials

The American-designed boiling water reactor and pressurized water reactor dominate the designs currently in use and under construction worldwide. As in all energy systems, materials problems have appeared during service; these include stress-corrosion of stainless steel pipes and heat exchangers and questions regarding crack behavior in pressure vessels. To obtain the maximum potential energy from our limited uranium supplies is is essential to develop the fast breeder reactor. The materials in these reactors are subjected to higher temperatures and neutron fluxes but lower pressures than in the water reactors. The performance required of the fuel elements is more arduous in the breeder than in water reactors. Extensive materials programs are in progress in test reactors and in large test rigs to ensure that materials will be available to meet these conditions

Alloys in energy development

The development of new and advanced energy systems often requires the tailoring of new alloys or alloy combinations to meet the novel and often stringent requirements of those systems. Longer life at higher temperatures and stresses in aggressive environments is the most common goal. Alloy theory helps in achieving this goal by suggesting uses of multiphase systems and intermediate phases, where solid solutions were traditionally used. However, the use of materials under non-equilibrium conditions is now quite common - as with rapidly solidified metals - and the application of alloy theory must be modified accordingly. Under certain conditions, as in a reactor core, the rate of approach to equilibrium will be modified; sometimes a quasi-equilibrium is established. Thus an alloy may exhibit enhanced general diffusion at the same time as precipitate particles are being dispersed and solute atoms are being carried to vacancy sinks. We are approaching an understanding of these processes and can begin to model these complex systems

Radiation damage considerations

The designs of nuclear fission and fusion power plants do not, in general, appear to make unusual demands on materials in terms of mechanical- property requirements. Radiation environments produce unique effects on the composition, microstructure, and defect population of these alloys, resulting in time-dependent and time-independent changes in mechanical properties. To illustrate these problems, the materials needs of the core of a Liquid-Metal Fast- Breeder Reactor (LMFBR) and of the first wall of a fusion reactor are discussed. In the case of the LMFBR core, the phenomenon of void swelling causes serious design problems, and a search is being made for a low-swelling alloy that has adequate mechanical properties. The fusion reactor poses different problems because the neutron energy is high (14 MeV) and is accompanied by a high flux of charged particles. The long-term choices for a wall material have been narrowed to vanadium and niobium alloys. In the search for low-swelling alloys, it has become clear that minor elements play an important role in determining the nature of the radiation effects. The segregation of minor elements to void surfaces and the dispersion and reformation of second-phase precipitates are two important radiation-induced phenomena that require additional study in view of their influence on void swelling and high-temperature properties. (auth