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WP7

Neutron irradiation of ATF clads & joints

  • Participants: SCK CEN
  • WP7 Leader: SCK CEN

Introduction

WP7 targets the validation of the optimised ATF clads & their joints in an industrially-relevant environment, i.e., under neutron irradiation in PWR-like water. Only cladding materials that have successfully passed the set of critical screening tests will be irradiated in the BR2 test reactor. Material irradiation will be carried out in a reloadable MISTRAL irradiation rig, which can accumulate a dose of 0.6 dpa/cycle (calculated for steel).

The attainable yearly dose (3.0-3.6 dpa/year) is defined by the BR2 operational schedule, which typically foresees 5-6 cycles/year. The planned irradiation campaign aims at a maximum displacement dose of 6-7 dpa after two full years of BR2 operation. Intermediate material sampling will allow the follow-up of the neutron-irradiation damage evolution, thus allowing the replacement of underperforming materials with improved ones.

The planned campaign will irradiate ATF clads & joints, thus simultaneously collecting neutron data from both ATF clads & joints. The data from the early-sampled materials (1-5 dpa) will help to optimise material production (WP1-WP3) and will also aid the development of accurate predictive models for the in-service material performance (WP9).

Deliverables

  • D7.1: Detailed design of MISTRAL rig
  • D7.2: Final report on MISTRAL irradiation campaign

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