Materials scientists and engineers from six universities in the U.K. are taking part in a joint project to forecast the life expectancy of the country’s nuclear power reactors. The research team comes from the University of Leeds, with colleagues from the universities of Manchester, Nottingham, Salford, Sussex, and Huddersfield.
The project runs for three years, is being funded by a £1.3 million ($2.1 million) grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. It involves some 25 faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students from the six universities, as well as industrial partners from the nuclear industry.
The findings are expected to help utility companies that operate the U.K.’s fleet of nuclear reactors to plan for the future. The work should also show whether the next generation of very high temperature reactors, which are expected to become an important source of hydrogen-based power, will last as long as expected.
The scientists will examine how daily radiation exposure affects the graphite blocks that sustain nuclear chain reactions. Graphite is a key component of most current nuclear reactors in the U.K. and for many of the newer high-temperature reactors. Graphite blocks act as a brake for high-speed neutrons, slowing them down to speeds that are most effective for nuclear fission.
The bombardment of neutrons over time can interact with these graphite brakes, changing their shape and making the graphite the blocks more porous. Knowing exactly the length of time it takes for these effects to take place and how the material changes will help engineers predict how long the graphite moderators can do their job properly. The findings can also suggest ways that manufacturing processes can be improved and how damage to the graphite blocks could be reversed.
Researchers at the universities will use experimental and simulation techniques to study irradiated graphite on a number of different scales. These methods include transmission electron microscopy, Raman and electron spectroscopy, and X-ray tomography. The results will help develop computer models that can predict the behavior of reactor components under normal operating conditions.
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