From Processing to Simulated In-Reactor Performance of Zr Cladding.

核能将在未来安全、负担得起和低碳发电方面发挥关键作用。英国致力于实现到2050年温室气体排放达到1990年前水平的80%的目标，作为这一目标的一部分，从现在到那时，核能发电的比例可能必须增加两到三倍。绝大多数核能是由轻水核反应堆产生的。这些使用由各种类型的锆合金制成的包层来容纳（“包层”）核燃料，在高活性燃料/裂变产物和冷却剂之间形成屏障。锆被认为是用于此目的的理想材料，因为它具有优异的耐腐蚀性能和小的中子横截面，这意味着它具有低的中子吸收率。这些特性使锆合金比许多其他材料更适合于反应堆条件。为了提高其性能和核能发电效率，关于锆合金的行为和耐用性还有很多需要了解的地方。如果我们进一步了解这些材料在核反应堆中的行为，我们就可以更准确地预测包壳的“寿命”，甚至开发新的、更复杂的合金--这些进步可以最大限度地减少新的核废料产生，进一步提高燃料和反应堆的安全性。因此，锆合金研究是核发电和安全的核心。在此背景下，该项目旨在加深对锆加工领域及其与反应堆内性能关系的理解。英国-印度民用核能合作是一项正在进行的倡议，旨在促进核能领域的合作研究，该第三阶段项目建立在第一阶段非常成功的项目基础上。曼彻斯特大学和印度Bhabha原子研究中心（BARC）之前的合作，通过实验和建模工作，在对锆合金的理解方面取得了重大进展。这项工作已经与核工业直接相关，并被核工业应用。本项目旨在直接跟进这项工作，采用“从摇篮到坟墓”的方法，旨在进一步了解锆在反应堆中的性能，包括材料的初始“处理"如何影响其性能。这项工作将再次与BARC和英迪拉·甘地原子研究中心（IGCAR）的合作伙伴一起进行。一旦开发出关于锆的新假设，包括潜在的新合金成分，这些假设必须在实际应用之前在反应堆条件下进行彻底测试。这是一个昂贵和耗时的过程，研究人员可用的试验反应堆很少，而且与放射性材料有关的费用/实验困难。作为对这一点的部分回应，曼彻斯特大学的道尔顿坎布里亚实验室（DCF）已投入近3000万英镑，旨在研究辐照和活化材料。DCF将使该项目的另一个关键方面成为可能：在DCF和IGCAR开发新的实验装置（在密歇根大学率先开发）。这些实验将允许研究辐照过程中的材料降解，模拟反应堆中经历的条件，而不产生放射性样品，从而推动对锆性能的准确，实用的理解，提高高效，安全的核能发电。（曼彻斯特和谢菲尔德）和印度（BARC和IGCAR），实现一个独特的研究计划，将对核工业和研究产生影响，并帮助开发该领域的新实验技术。

Nuclear energy will play a critical role in the future of secure, affordable and low-carbon power generation. The UK is committed to a greenhouse emissions target of 80% of pre-1990 levels by 2050 and as part of this, between now and then, it is likely that the percentage of power generation via nuclear will have to increase by somewhere between two- and three-times.The vast majority of nuclear power is generated by light water nuclear reactors. These use cladding made from various types of zirconium alloy to contain ('clad') nuclear fuel, creating a barrier between highly active fuel/fission products and the coolant. Zirconium is considered an ideal material for this purpose, as it has excellent corrosion resistance properties and a small neutron cross section, meaning that it has a low rate of neutron absorption. These properties make zirconium alloys fundamentally more suitable than many other materials in reactor conditions.There is still much more to be learnt about the behaviour and durability of zirconium alloys, in order to enhance their performance and the efficiency of nuclear power generation. If we gain further understanding about how these materials behave in a nuclear reactor, we can more accurately predict the 'life' of the clad and even develop new, more sophisticated alloys - advancements which can minimise new nuclear waste production and further enhance fuel and reactor safety.Zirconium alloy research is therefore at the heart of nuclear power generation and safety. Within this context, this project aims to develop increased understanding in the field of zirconium processing and its relationship to in-reactor performance. The UK-India Civil Nuclear Collaboration is an on-going initiative to promote cooperative research in the area of nuclear energy, and this Phase III project builds upon a highly successful project undertaken in Phase I. The previous collaboration, between the University of Manchester and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in India, made significant developments in the understanding of zirconium alloys, through both experimental and modelling work. This work has already had direct relevance to, and application by, the nuclear industry.This project aims to directly follow-on from this work, adopting a 'cradle-to-grave' approach intended to gain further understanding about the in-reactor performance of zirconium, including how the initial 'processing' of the material might impact on its properties. The proposed work will again be carried-out with partners at BARC, as well as at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR).Once new hypotheses about zirconium are developed, including potential new alloy compositions, these must be thoroughly tested in reactor conditions before real-world application. This is a costly and time-consuming process, with few test reactors available to researchers and the costs/experimental difficulties associated with working on radioactive material. Partly in response to this, nearly £30m has been invested into the development of the University of Manchester's Dalton Cumbrian Facility (DCF), designed to allow research on irradiated and activated materials.DCF will enable the other key aspect of this project: the development of novel experimental set-ups (pioneered at the University of Michigan) at both DCF and IGCAR. These experiments will allow the investigation of material degradation during irradiation, mimicking the conditions experienced in reactors without producing radioactive samples, and so drive forward accurate, practical understanding of zirconium performance, enhancing efficient, safe nuclear power generation.This project brings together outstanding capabilities and expertise from the UK (Manchester and Sheffield) and India (BARC and IGCAR), enabling a unique research programme that will have impact for the nuclear industry and research, as well as helping to develop new experimental techniques for the field.