Objective: Assist in the qualification of materials for high-temperature service under international design codes

Facilities: High Flux Reactor (HFR) operated by Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (the Netherlands)

Core Group: NRG (the Netherlands), INL, EPRI (United States), CEA (France)

HITEC is dedicated to addressing challenges in the development and safety assessment of advanced non-LWR (or ANLWRs) nuclear power plants, which operate at significantly higher temperatures (400-750°C) compared to traditional light-water reactors (LWRs). HITEC aims to assist in the qualification of materials for high-temperature service under design codes like the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code (ASME BPVC) and Règles de Conception et de Construction des matériels mécaniques des installations nucléaires hautes températures, expérimentales et de fusion (RCC-MRx).

HITEC includes a high-temperature in-pile creep-rupture test in an inert gas on stainless steels and nickel alloys at 650°C and targeting 5 dpa (displacements per atom). This data is essential to understand thermal creep and irradiation creep interactions, especially regarding helium accumulation at grain boundaries.

The planned programme of work to be conducted in 2024-2027 includes irradiation of three instrumented (creep-rupture) samples, as well as 40 non-instrumented tensile test samples for a range of stainless steels and nickel alloys at 650 °C, including additively manufactured 316 steel.

Members visit the HFR reactor being used in the HITEC experiments. Photo curtesy of NRG.