Materials and processes for heavy liquid metal cooled reactors

    Research outputpeer-review

    Abstract

    Heavy liquid metals such as liquid lead and lead bismuth-eutectic are very prominent coolants for fast neutron spectrum nuclear systems such as lead-cooled fast reactor. The ambitious goals of innovative nuclear systems with heavy liquid metal coolants impose the compatibility of the materials of the primary circuits with the hostile environment at elevated temperatures. The fuel cladding is the first safety barrier to retain the fission products, including raising the pressure of fission gases during the fuel cycle. The most constraining issues for reactor systems with heavy liquid metal coolants arise from materials degradation phenomena such as liquid metal corrosion, mechanically assisted degradation effects and environmentally induced cracking, among which liquid metal embrittlement is the most explicit.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationMaterials and Processes for Nuclear Energy Today and in the Future
    EditorsFanny Balbaud-Célérier, Céline Cabet
    PublisherWiley
    Chapter5
    Pages169-196
    Number of pages28
    ISBN (Electronic)9781394325870
    ISBN (Print)9781789451863
    StatePublished - Oct 2024

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