Corrosion Control and Materials Performance in Nuclear Power Systems

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With growing climate change concerns in Canada, nuclear energy provides the benefits of an efficient, carbon-free energy source. The Government of Canada and the nuclear industry have recognized this, and are actively pursuing refurbishment of nuclear power plants (NPP) and new builds, such as small modular reactors; the latter provide additional benefits as energy sources for northern communities. For these initiatives to be realized, environmental, safety, and economic concerns of NPPs must be addressed; these concerns are linked with materials performance and corrosion control, which impacts the lifetime of components in NPPs. Although strides have been made, much of the underlying science governing materials degradation in NPPs remains unclear.The objective of this UNENE Research Chair program is to advance the understanding of metallic corrosion in nuclear-relevant environments. Two linked Chair programs are proposed, at a Senior and Associate level, to ensure succession of capability at a Canadian university. A focus will be the application of innovative microscopy methods to understand corrosion at the nanoscale. The combined action of stress and corrosion (stress corrosion cracking (SCC)) will be important, and complementary electrochemical work will be performed. A goal is to identify corrosion and SCC "precursors", which are nanoscale changes in chemical or material properties that occur prior to the onset of degradation. A second focus of this IRC will be to better understand irradiation effects on corrosion, which is important long-term for NPPs as radiation dose increases with life extension. Research will draw heavily on the novel facilities (i.e. proton accelerator) and microscopes available at the Reactor Materials Testing Laboratory (RMTL) at Queen's, and the Ontario Centre for Characterization of Advanced Materials (OCCAM) at Toronto. The program will provide HQP with an inclusive environment and many opportunities to interact with industry and develop multi-disciplinary skills.