STRUCTURAL MATERIALS CANDIDATE FOR SUPERCRITICAL WATER-COOLED REACTOR

The possibility of making a Supercritical Water-Cooled Reactor (SCWR) will be decided based on the selection of materials that will be able to withstand combined stresses (thermal, hydrostatic, and radiative) that arise from the operating conditions during the life of a reactor. Because supercritical water is a very aggressive corrosive environment, corrosion becomes a difficult problem for materials used in SCWR. This paper summarizes the results of corrosion tests performed so far on promising structural materials for Generation IV water-cooled supercritical reactors. Austenitic stainless steels with Cr and nickel high are promising materials for reactor cladding, as they generally have satisfactory corrosion resistance in supercritical water at high temperatures.