Environmental Impact on the Structural Integrity of Nuclear Components

先进气冷反应堆（AGR）核电站的机群产生了英国约15%的电力。预计2016年至2024年期间计划关闭的AGR将导致英国发电能力短缺。因此，建立agr的安全寿命延长对英国来说非常重要。高温不锈钢构件蠕变疲劳过程的退化限制了agr的使用寿命。新的证据表明，在这些成分运行的气体和它们可能失效的方式之间可能存在协同相互作用，这一点尚未完全了解。如果不考虑这种相互作用，生命周期的延长可能是不可能的。该项目旨在了解环境与组件降解之间的相互作用，从而开发出一种评估方法，可以确定AGR反应器中运行的不锈钢组件的安全性和延长使用寿命。

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.