Researches of "Prometey" scientists will prolong service life of nuclear reactors
From 7th till 10th June in "Helios" hotel in Zelenogorsk city the 14th International conference «Material Issues in Design, Manufacturing and Operation of Nuclear Power Plants Equipment» - MAINSTREAM - 2016, organized by CRISM «Prometey» and St.-Petersburg Society of Science and Technologies
took place.
11.06.2016
The name
"MAINSTREAM-2016" perfectly conveys the main idea of conference where the key research trends in development and research for materials for the NPP equipment have been presented. 2016 became an anniversary for conference’s organizers - the first conference on materials technology for nuclear engineering took place 25 years ago. It has been organized in 1991 on a wave of interest of foreign scientists to scientific developments of the Russian scientists. The interest to this issue maintains now - specialists from Czech Republic, Syria, India, Bulgaria, Germany and Finland took part in «Mainstream-2016».
Today conference is a platform for an exchange of experience between leading developers for Russian nuclear reactors, among which: CRISM «Prometey», NRC «Kurchatov institute», JSC «SRC Research Institute of Atomic Reactors», JSC «NIKIET», JSC «Afrikantov Experimental Design Bureau for Mechanical Engineering», JSC «SRC RF-FEI named after A.I. Lejpunsky» and others.
- As a matter of fact, the conference is a platform where we and our colleagues from other institutes throughout five days can easily, leaving routine behind, present our scientific results in the last two years and discuss them, - professor Boris Margolin, one of organizers of conference, said. - Our points of view not always the same, but this exchange of opinions gives us a pulse, allows us to develop that area of material science in which we are engaged.
At opening of the conference Director General of CRISM «Prometey» Alexey Oryshchenko made a report where he reminded to the gathered persons that scientists of institute worked over creation of materials for nuclear-power engineering from the moment of its creation. They made materials for the nuclear reactor of atomic ice breaker "Lenin", for WWER of various power capacities. The reactor-pressure vessels (RPV) made of "Prometey" materials are a basis for the power units which are working nowadays in Russia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Finland and other countries. As a result of long-term work in institute heat- and high-radiation-resistant chromium-molybdenum-vanadium steels with the regulated substance content of nickel which provide manufacturing of WWER RPV of various power capacities with unprecedented high service life and the secured safety of service.
The Director General of FSUE CRISM "Prometey" also noted that specialists of institute executed the whole complex of works on creation of structural materials and technologies for manufacturing of fast neutrons reactor facilities. Scientists of "Prometey" had developed radiation-resistant chromium-nickel steels, welding materials and welding technologies for the reactor vessel and internals, and also for the steam plant. For reactor unit BN-1200 which is under a design stage, CRISM "Prometey" specialists carried out works on modernization of materials of the vessel and the sodium pipelines to provide term of their service live till 60 years. Also new steel is developed for the steam plant with an optimum combination of thermal stability and corrosion resistance that helps to increase service life of the steam plant till 30 years. All of this is impressing result of work of the scientific personnel based on the system approach to materials for nuclear reactors.
This approach was mentioned by deputy of Director General of CRISM "Prometey", Professor George Karzov. He made a report to the conference the next day after coming back from Moscow where Professor Karzov participated in meeting concerning the design of new power unit of the Kursk NPP where it is planned to use the modification of steel developed in "Prometey". George Karzov offered the philosophical approach to a problem of increasing in service life of nuclear reactors, defining strength and safety as necessary properties of materials, and fracture as the physical phenomenon to which it is necessary to resist.
- «Like the doctor who for sickness prevention should know the reasons of its origination, the material scientist should determine the reasons conducting to destruction of a material at its work as a part of an nuclear reactor. Maintenance of durability and work safety, as a rule, is attained for the account of the analysis of processes of a possible damage and fracture in some zones, and also compensation actions design for retarding fracture processes. It is necessary to install the dominating factor defining origination and development of fracture, and to offer measures on its full or at least to partial prevention».
In the report professor Karzov observed some typical cases of prevention of fracture of elements of NPP equipment. As an example of the designing raising durability of a construction, he observed process of choosing of a composition of new steel for a core baffle of nuclear reactor WWER-TOI and high-content chromium steels for vessel and heat-exchange steam plant of reactor BN-1200.
Participants of conference could learn in detail how the fundamental approach of a scientific management of "Prometey" is realizing in works of scientists and specialists who presented a row of interesting reports. Professor Boris Margolin and his colleagues told about fracture mechanisms highly-irradiated austenitic steels, including synergetic mechanism irradiation embrittlement of austenitic steels at long-term irradiation, and offered the new approach in calculations on brittle failure resistance of metal supporting elements of WWER reactors. In one of the reports of professor Margolin and his co-authors features of predicting of plasticity and fracture toughness of the irradiated austenitic steels with the account of a strain ageing and radiation swelling have been named. The substantiation of a method of an estimation of a thermal strain ageing of steels of WWER RPV by results of tests was offered. In the joint report of scientists of "Prometey" A.A. Buchatsky and A.G. Gulenko with the employee JSC «SRC Research Institute of Atomic Reactors» A.A. Nuzhdov the results of experimental and calculated researches of long-term strength under neutron irradiation of materials of BN reactors elements have been presented. G.P. Karzov and A.Y. Varovin gave the report about ways of improvement of modern non-destroying control of the main equipment and pipelines of the nuclear power station with WWER NPP.
The considerable percent of reports about change of properties of structural materials of nuclear reactors and possibility of their predicting has been presented by scientists NRC «Kurchatov institute», and also employees of other centers of science. On the whole at conference results of some serious researches were shown thanks to which there is possible to increase the service life of nuclear reactors, their efficiency and safety. Following the results of «MAINSTREAM 2016» can be noted that material scientists made the serious contribution to development of Russian nuclear engineering.