This article examines the understanding of persistent material changes produced in stainless alloys during light water reactor (LWR) irradiation based on the fundamentals of radiation damage and existing experimental measurements. It summarizes the overall trends and correlations for irradiation-assisted stress-corrosion cracking. The article addresses the effects of various radiation factors on corrosion. These include radiation-induced segregation at grain boundaries, radiation hardening, mode of deformation, radiation creep relaxation, and radiolysis. The article discusses a variety of approaches for mitigating stress-corrosion cracking in LWRs, in categories of water chemistry, operating guidelines, new alloys, design issues, and stress mitigation. It concludes with a discussion on the irradiation effects of irradiation on corrosion of zirconium alloys in LWR environments.

The components used in light water reactors (LWR) often remain in contact with the primary coolant, whose typical temperatures and pressures are highly aggressive, therefore, initiating corrosion in most of the alloys. This article describes the corrosion behavior of zirconium alloys in water and heat flow conditions that causes irradiation on the zirconium alloy assemblies. It discusses the effect of irradiation on the microstructure and morphology of cladded linings. The article describes the impact of metallurgical parameters on the oxidation resistance of zirconium alloys. It concludes with a discussion on LWR coolant chemistry and corrosion of fuel rods in reactors.

This article reviews a series of serious corrosion problems that have plagued the light water reactor (LWR) industry. It discusses the complex corrosion mechanisms involved, and the development of practical engineering solutions for their mitigation. The article contains tables that present the corrosion history of LWRs, and the ten most expensive operation and maintenance costs of corrosion for a particular reactor site.

Damage to steels from neutron irradiation affects the properties of steels and is an important factor in the design of safe and economical components for fission and fusion reactors. This article discusses the effects of high-energy neutrons on steels. The effects of damage caused by neutron irradiation include swelling (volume increase), irradiation hardening, and irradiation embrittlement (the influence of irradiation hardening on fracture toughness). These effects are primarily associated with high-energy (greater than 0.1 MeV) neutrons. Consequently, irradiation damage from neutrons is of considerable importance in fast reactors, which produce a significant flux of high-energy neutrons during operation. Irradiation embrittlement must also be considered in the development of ferritic steels for fast reactors and fusion reactors. Although ferritic steels are more resistant to swelling than austenitic steels, irradiation may have a more critical effect on the mechanical properties of ferritic steels.

This article discusses the principles of corrosion and the basis of the various prevention measures that can be taken for different corrosion modes. It describes aqueous corrosion phenomena in terms of the electrochemical reactions that occur at the metal-environment interface. The article explains the specific forms of corrosion, including general corrosion, localized attack, and environmentally assisted cracking. It provides a discussion on the engineering aspects of design that can, without due care and attention, precipitate unexpected premature failure. The article reviews ways to improve corrosion awareness and prevent corrosion/degradation. It describes a life prediction method with an example of environmental degradation in light-water nuclear reactors. The article concludes with a discussion on the validation of life-prediction algorithms and their applications.

This article focuses on the environmentally assisted cracking (EAC) of structural materials in boiling water reactors (BWRs), reactor pressure vessels, core internals, and ancillary piping. It discusses the effects of water chemistry on materials degradation, mitigation approaches, and their impact on aging management programs. The article reviews the effects of materials, environment, and stress factors on the cracking susceptibility of ferritic and austenitic structural alloys in BWRs. It describes the methods, such as data-based life-prediction approaches and mechanisms-informed life-prediction approaches, for predicting cracking kinetics in BWRs. The article provides information on several EAC mitigation techniques for BWR components, namely material solutions, stress solutions, and environmental solutions.

This article discusses the main materials and water chemistry characteristics of the primary and secondary water circuits of a pressurized water reactor (PWR). It reviews the corrosion issues of PWR materials and the influence of corrosion and fouling on primary and secondary circuit radiation fields. The article explains the primary side intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) in different materials, namely, nickel-base alloys, high-strength nickel-base alloys, low-strength austenitic stainless steels, and high-strength stainless steels. The secondary side corrosion in steam generator including denting, pitting, intergranular attack and IGSCC is also discussed. The article examines laboratory studies that have resulted in models and computer codes for evaluating and predicting intergranular corrosion, and considers the remedial actions for preventing or arresting intergranular corrosion. It concludes with information on the external bolting corrosion in nuclear power reactors.

This article provides a summary of the concepts discussed in the Section “Corrosion in Specific Industries” in the ASM Handbook, Volume 13C:Corrosion: Environments and Industries. This Section applies the fundamental understanding of corrosion and knowledge of materials of construction to practical applications. The industries addressed are nuclear power, fossil and alternative fuel, land transportation, air transportation, microelectronics, chemical processing, pulp and paper, food and beverage, pharmaceutical and medical technology, petroleum and petrochemical, building, and mining and metal processing.

Surface coatings are essential in all facilities that process nuclear materials or use nuclear fission for power generation. This article describes the coatings used in two basic types of Generation 3 nuclear reactor designs in the United States and their containment size. These reactors are the boiling water reactor (BWR) and pressurized water reactor (PWR). The article provides information on the loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) identified as the design basis accident (DBA), which can rapidly de-water the core of an operating nuclear reactor. To avoid LOCA, both the BWR and the PWR include emergency core cooling systems. The article describes a DBA test and other coating performance parameters necessary for safety-related coating systems. It provides a detailed account of the selection criteria of coating types in a nuclear plant. The article concludes by highlighting protective coating strategies in Generation 3 Plants.

This article provides an overview of the safety aspects and integrity concept for pressure vessels, piping, and tubing. It focuses on the fracture mechanics approaches used to validate components with longitudinal cracks and circumferential cracks and to analyze crack growth behavior under cyclic loading. Full-scale testing facilities and the typical test results required for various applications are discussed. The article also presents information on the transferability of mechanical properties of materials.

This article provides a discussion on transformers and reactors for induction heating. It presents information on the initial considerations in the selection process and the demands of power supply and load circuits. The article describes the types of transformers and reactors used in induction heating and maintenance operations. It also provides a discussion on load matching covering the following topics: initial considerations in the load-matching process, understanding the load circuit and the power supply circuit, selecting the desired operating point, adjusting the value of components, and testing the setup.

This article provides information on the liquid lithium systems that are exposed to liquid metal. It discusses the forms in which liquid-metal corrosion is manifested. The influence of several key factors on the corrosion of metals and alloys by liquid-metal systems or liquid-vapor metal coolants is described. Some information on safety precautions for handling liquid metals, operating circulating systems, dealing with fire and spillage, and cleaning contaminated components, are also provided.

This article briefly introduces the concept of creep properties of additively manufactured (AM) alloys, with a focus on the effects of the characteristic microstructure of AM alloys on creep performance. Relevant postprocessing treatment also is discussed, in relation to improved creep performance based on the improvement of AM initial microstructure.

Zirconium and its alloys are available in two general categories: commercial grade and reactor grade. This article discusses the welding processes that can be used for welding any of the zirconium alloys. These include gas-tungsten arc welding (GTAW), gas-metal arc welding (GMAW), plasma arc welding (PAW), electron-beam welding (EBW), laser-beam welding (LBW), friction welding (FRW), resistance welding (RW), resistance spot welding (RSW), and resistance seam welding (RSEW). The article reviews the selection of shielding gases and filler metals for welding zirconium alloys. It concludes with a discussion on process procedures for welding zirconium alloys.

Zirconium, hafnium, and titanium are produced from ore that generally is found in a heavy beach sand containing zircon, rutile, and ilmenite. This article discusses the processing methods of these metals, namely, liquid-liquid separation process, distillation separation process, refining, and melting. It also discusses the primary and secondary fabrication of zirconium and hafnium and its alloys. The article talks about the metallurgy of zirconium and its alloys with emphasis on allotropic transformation, cold work and recrystallization, anisotropy and preferred orientation, and the role of oxygen. It concludes by providing useful information on the applications of reactor and industrial grades of zirconium alloys.

Nuclear power plants benefit from thermal spray coatings for corrosion and erosion minimization and dimensional restoration of worn parts. This article provides a detailed discussion on the advantages of thermal spray coatings, fission reactor component coatings, and coatings for nuclear fuel processing before and after irradiation for power plant applications. Nuclear fusion research is divided into two primary fields of study categorized by the method for confining the fusion fuel: magnetic confinement fusion and inertial confinement fusion.

Zirconium, hafnium, and their alloys are reactive metals used in a variety of nuclear and chemical processing applications. This article describes various specimen preparation procedures for these materials, including sectioning, mounting, grinding, polishing, and etching. It reviews some examples of the microstructure and examination for zircaloy alloys, hafnium, zirconium, and bimetallic forms.

Independent verification of coating system performance can be based on laboratory testing and/or field exposure. Qualification testing is a critical component to coating system selection. This article focuses on performance evaluations that are used to prequalify coating systems, namely, facility-specific, industry-specific, coating-type-specific, or a combination of these. It describes the standard laboratory tests used to generate performance data, namely, physical, compositional, chemical exposure, and application characteristics tests. The pros and cons of using manufacturer-generated data versus independently generated data are discussed. The article provides information on accelerated corrosion/weathering testing and nuclear level 1/level 2 service coatings qualification. It also describes the procedures for establishing minimum performance requirements and for determining when requalification testing may be required.