P30 - Kyoto University (KU) | Japan

Kyoto University, KU, founded in 1861, is an academic institution where ground-breaking research and knowledge transfer are essential and complementary. KU has 14 Research Institutes and 17 Research Centres as well as Faculties and Departments. KU was the second Imperial University before World War II. Knowledge transfer, co-operation with industry and spin-off creation is facilitated and supported by Kyoto University Research and Development, a separate entity within the University with a dedicated unit to support both Japanese and international collaborative projects. The Institute of Advanced Energy (IAE; www.iae.kyoto-u.ac.jp) of KU is involved in several strategic fields of materials research and development, and is currently active in the field of advanced alloys and production processes, ceramics, nanomaterials, high-temperature processing of liquid metals, intermetallics, polymers and composites, thermodynamics, deformation processing, materials performance and degradation, non-destructive testing, surface engineering and tribology, biomaterials, and modelling of materials and processes. IAE operates as one unit, with an annual budget of 15 M€, one Departmental manager and a unique scientific infrastructure. Its flexible organization allows tackling scientific and industrial problems in a multidisciplinary way. IAE focuses on research in energy and environment, balancing fundamental and applied research under the umbrella of sustainability. IAE has a multicultural and international profile, currently representing over 20 nationalities with about 90 PhD students and 25 post-docs on a total of around 120 employees. Important values are relevance for society, continuity, trust and confidence in long-term-co-operation with strong industrial partners.

Within IL TROVATORE, Kyoto University/IAE will participate through the Advanced Atomic Energy Research Section on advanced ceramics, composite materials and metallurgy; this section will contribute with their expert knowledge on advanced nuclear cladding materials, such as SiC/SiC composites and ODS-FeCrAl alloys, under the supervision of Prof. S. Konishi. The R&D activities at KU will also be supported by the research group led by Prof. A. Kohyama (http://www.oasis.muroran-it.ac.jp), who has a long track record (40 years) on the coordination of and participation in many Japanese and international programs, such as the ITER, Japan-EU Broader Approach, IAE Fusion Reactor Materials, US-Japan Fusion Research Program, as well as in leading many domestic large-scale projects. The research group of Prof. Kohyama will bring into this project their know-how on the processing and characterisation of SiC/SiC composites based on the international/Japanese patent of the NITE process. The R&D activities regarding production, characterisation, joining, cladding/coolant interaction, irradiation, modelling of in-service damage evolution and standardisation of these innovative clads will take place in WP1 and WP3-WP10 of the IL TROVATORE project.