The thermal degradation of structural materials is considered to be a key factor for evaluating the lifetime of current nuclear power plants. Ni-based and Fe-based alloys, such as 690, 625, 304, and 316, are widely used in nuclear industry as structural components due to the extraordinary corrosion resistance and mechanical...
Mechanical property degradation due to isothermal ageing is of potential concern for alloys based on the Ni-Cr binary system (e.g., Inconel 690, 625), particularly in nuclear power applications where component lifetimes can exceed 40 years. In the present research, the disorder-order phase transformation, which is the primary mechanism of ageing,...
The advent of supercritical CO2 as a new heat-exchange medium has seen strong interest from the power industry and the energy research field recently. It is advan- tageous in comparison with other heat-exchange cycles, as it can be operated safely at much higher temperatures and pressures, thus increasing the thermal...
Duplex stainless steels (DSS) are an attractive potential material in nuclear power generation systems due to an excellent combination of corrosion resistance, strength, toughness, and affordability. Thermal embrittlement caused by phase instability in the temperature range of ~300-550°C severely limits the service temperature of DSS. The rate of embrittlement varies...