Supercritical water-cooled reactor materials – Summary of research and open issues

The Supercritical Water Reactor (SCWR) is one of the six reactor concepts being investigated under the framework of the Generation IV International Forum (GIF). Research on materials and chemistry for supercritical water-cooled reactors dates back to the 1960s when a number of reactor concepts using water at supercritical temperatures but sub-critical pressures (nuclear steam) were studied. There is also significant experience available from the operation of supercritical fossil-fired power plants. In this paper, the materials requirements of the various SCWR concepts are introduced, with a focus on the European Union pressure vessel concept and the Canadian pressure tube concept. The current understanding of the key materials degradation issues is reviewed, and knowledge gaps identified.JRC.F.4-Innovative Technologies for Nuclear Reactor Safet

Materials and Water Chemistry for Supercritical Water-cooled Reactors

Materials and Water Chemistry for Supercritical Water-cooled Reactors is unique in that it brings together materials and water chemistry, their interrelationship, the historical perspective and their application to SCWR conceptual design. Written by world’s leading experts, all active in the area of materials and chemistry R&D in support of GEN IV SCWR, this book presents for the first time a comprehensive reference on these topics, and in particular, how these data relate to the SCWR design itself. This book is an essential text for researchers in the areas of supercritical water-cooled reactor materials and chemistry, working in industry or academia. It will also give newcomers to the field a survey of all of the available literature and a clear understanding of how these studies relate to the design of the SCWR concept. The material presented is at a specialist’s level in materials or corrosion science, or in water chemistry of power plants.JRC.G.I.4-Nuclear Reactor Safety and Emergency Preparednes