Environmental Impact on the Structural Integrity of Nuclear Components

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The fleet of Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (AGR) nuclear power plants generate ~15% of the UK’s electricity power. The planned AGR closures between 2016 and 2024 are predicted to contribute to a shortage in UK electricity generation capacity. Therefore establishing safe lifetime extension of the AGRs is important for the UK. The degradation of high temperature stainless steel components through creep-fatigue processes is life limiting to the AGRs. New evidence suggests that there may be a synergistic interaction between the gas in which these components operate and the way they may fail, which is not fully understood. Lifetime extension may be impossible without accounting for this interaction. This project aims to understand this interaction between the environment and component degradation, enabling an assessment methodology to be developed which can establish the safety and extended lifetime of stainless steel components operating in the AGR reactors.