Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.7
3.4
Journals
Coatings
Special Issues
Behavior of Materials (Alloys, Coatings) in Conditions Specific to Gen...
share announcement

Behavior of Materials (Alloys, Coatings) in Conditions Specific to Gen IV Nuclear Reactors

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Surface Characterization, Deposition and Modification".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 4850

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Manuela Fulger

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Nuclear Materials and Corrosion Department, RATEN Institute for Nuclear Research, 115400 Mioveni, Romania
Interests: corrosion of nuclear grade materials; corrosion of alloys in supercritical water; corrosion inhibitors; detection of alloys’ corrosion susceptibility using electrochemical measurements; microstructural analysis of degraded alloys, corrosion of spent fuel claddings in conditions of geological disposal
Dr. Catalin Marian Ducu

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Manufacturing and Industrial Management, University of Pitesti, 110040 Pitesti, Romania
Interests: engineering; materials characterization; development of new materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Monika Šípová

E-Mail Website
Assistant Guest Editor
Department of Material Testing, Centrum výzkumu Řež s.r.o., Hlavní 130, Řež, 250 68 Husinec, Czech Republic
Interests: material research with a focus on corrosion behaviour mainly in the nuclear field
Dr. Kittima Khumsa-Ang

E-Mail Website
Assistant Guest Editor
Advanced Reactor Materials & Chemistry Branch, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, 286 Plant Road, Chalk River, ON, Canada
Interests: corrosion of in-core and structural materials; the impact of crud deposit/fouling on the heat transfer in both single- and two-phase flow systems; chemical treatment in nuclear power plants
Dr. Alberto Sáez-Maderuelo

E-Mail Website
Assistant Guest Editor
Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Technology Department, Avda. Complutense, 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: corrosion and mechanical behavior of structural materials for GenII/III and Gen IV nuclear applications

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Today, in the face of the global energy crisis, coupled with climate change, countries are looking for any potential alternatives to replace their dependence on fossil fuels. Thus, a renewed interest in nuclear energy, considered as much cleaner, can be observed. The Fourth Generation International Forum (GIF) is an important actor involved in R&D activities regarding advanced nuclear energy systems.

The GIF has selected six reactor technologies for further research and development: the gas-cooled fast reactor (GFR), the lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR), the molten salt reactor (MSR), the sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR), the supercritical-water-cooled reactor (SCWR) and the very-high-temperature reactor (VHTR).

One of the main challenges in the development of these types of reactors is represented by the materials used for internal components and the chemistry of these harsh environments.

This Special Issue is focused on providing a platform for online academic exchanges between researchers and readers for finding solutions in the following fields:

  • Experimental tests to assess the compatibility of environments specific for Gen IV reactors with candidate materials.
  • High-performance coatings resistance in these environments.
  • New materials produced via different technologies including additive manufacturing.
  • Advanced methods and techniques to assess behaviour of candidate materials (alloys/coatings) under conditions specific to Gen IV reactors.

Dr. Manuela Fulger
Dr. Catalin Marian Ducu
Guest Editors

Dr. Monika Šípová
Dr. Kittima Khumsa-Ang
Dr. Alberto Sáez-Maderuelo
Guest Editor Assistants

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • supercritical water cooled reactors
  • lead fast reactors
  • protective coatings
  • performant materials

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Editorial

Jump to: Research

5 pages, 229 KiB  
Editorial
Special Issue: Behavior of Materials (Alloys, Coatings) in Conditions Specific to Gen IV Nuclear Reactors
by Manuela Fulger, Kittima Khumsa-Ang, Monika Šípová, Catalin Marian Ducu and Alberto Sáez-Maderuelo
Coatings 2023, 13(1), 58; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/coatings13010058 - 29 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1446
Abstract
Today, countries all over the world, faced with a global energy crisis and the effects of climate change, are looking for alternatives to fossil fuels [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Behavior of Materials (Alloys, Coatings) in Conditions Specific to Gen IV Nuclear Reactors)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

19 pages, 5381 KiB  
Article
Initial Multidisciplinary Study of Oxidized Chromium-Coated Zirconium Alloy for Fuel Cladding of SCW-SMR Concept: Weight-Gain and Thermal Conductivity Measurements and Coating Cost Evaluation
by Kittima Khumsa-Ang, Alberto Mendoza, Armando Nava-Dominguez, Chukwudi Azih and Hussam Zahlan
Coatings 2023, 13(9), 1648; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/coatings13091648 - 20 Sep 2023
Viewed by 832
Abstract
One of the challenges of small modular reactors (SMRs) in comparison with large reactors is the greater difficulty in achieving high burnups in smaller cores. With greater neutron leakage through the periphery, a key factor is the neutron economy of the fuel cladding. [...] Read more.
One of the challenges of small modular reactors (SMRs) in comparison with large reactors is the greater difficulty in achieving high burnups in smaller cores. With greater neutron leakage through the periphery, a key factor is the neutron economy of the fuel cladding. However, all large supercritical water-cooled reactor (SCWR) concepts have employed neutron-absorbing stainless steels and nickel-based alloys in order to meet all the requirements in terms of corrosion and thermalhydraulics. In order to achieve higher burnups and extend the time between refueling in a SCW-SMR, the use of chromium-coated zirconium alloy as a potential fuel cladding candidate has been explored. Chromium coatings up to a few micrometers thick have shown improved oxidation resistance of zirconium-based claddings under operating conditions relevant to SCWR concepts. In this study, Zr-2.5Nb alloy (UNS R60904) from pressure tube samples was coated using a physical vapor-deposition (PVD) method. Oxidation tests were performed on coated samples at 500 °C and approximately 25 MPa in a refreshed autoclave. The effects of the oxide on heat transfer and hydraulic resistance are also discussed in this study. Last, but not least, this study evaluates the coating cost of the fuel cladding with chromium in a vacuum plasma spray process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Behavior of Materials (Alloys, Coatings) in Conditions Specific to Gen IV Nuclear Reactors)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 11925 KiB  
Article
The Influence of High-Temperature Helium and the Amount of Revert Material on the Material Properties of Inconel 738
by Daniela Marušáková, Cinthia Antunes Corrêa, Claudia Aparicio, Ondřej Libera, Jan Berka, Monika Vilémová and Petra Gávelová
Coatings 2023, 13(1), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings13010045 - 27 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1825
Abstract
Nickel-based alloys are considered promising materials for primary circuits of high-temperature gas reactors (HTGRs), specifically for gas turbines. The primary helium (He) coolant in the gas-turbine-based HTGRs is expected to reach temperatures of up to 900 °C; therefore, the selected materials should adequately [...] Read more.
Nickel-based alloys are considered promising materials for primary circuits of high-temperature gas reactors (HTGRs), specifically for gas turbines. The primary helium (He) coolant in the gas-turbine-based HTGRs is expected to reach temperatures of up to 900 °C; therefore, the selected materials should adequately perform over a long service life at such an environment. A promising manufacturing method in the production of reactor components is precision casting, where the content of revert (recyclate) material in the alloy differs and can influence the material behavior. In our study, Inconel alloy 738 was manufactured by casting 50% and 100% of revert material and tested in HTGR conditions to examine the influence of helium coolant on the material’s properties. Tensile specimens were exposed at 900 °C for 1000 h in helium containing a specified amount of gaseous impurities. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), in combination with X-ray diffraction (XRD) and nano-, microhardness methods, were used for material characterization after performing the tensile tests at room temperature. The presence of three types of layers was observed: a thin layer formed by aluminum and chromium oxides on the surface; non-uniform surface oxides Ti3O5 with inner (Al,Cr)2O3; and the inner fine-grained Inconel Cr-enriched phase (approx. 10–20 µm below the surface), which can act as a protective surface layer. Mechanical properties of both revert materials decreased after exposure to HTGR conditions but did not show a significant difference as a result of the content of the revert material. The increase of nano-hardness in line profiles throughout the specimen’s cross-section was observed locally at the surface oxides and in the precipitates and grain boundaries. After exposure, Rp0.2 values decreased by 20% and 17.7%, and Rm values by 12.3% and 20.8% in samples with 50 and 100% revert content, respectively. Furthermore, a decrease in microhardness values (HV0.1) was detected by 4.98% in longitude and 5.80% in cross-section for samples with 50% revert material and by 3.85% in longitude and 7.86% in cross-section for samples with 100% revert material. It can be concluded that both revert materials have similar corrosion resistance in HTGR conditions. The presented results complement the knowledge about the degradation of alloys in the coolant environment of advanced gas-cooled reactors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Behavior of Materials (Alloys, Coatings) in Conditions Specific to Gen IV Nuclear Reactors)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop