INNOVATIVE STRUCTURAL MATERIALS FOR FISSION AND FUSION

Key Data:
Joint Project Coordinated by KIT (Germany)
Funding Authority: European Commission
Grant agreement ID:101061241
Project run: 09/2022 to 08/2026

The INNUMAT consortium (36 participants) is highly interdisciplinary and complementary and gathers important institutions in the fields of nuclear energy.

INNUMAT aims to develop innovative structural materials for nuclear applications and put them on track towards qualification for fission lead-cooled and molten salt fast reactors as well as fusion DEMO. For fission applications high entropy alloys (HEAs), a new class of materials with a vast development potential and very promising properties, as well as alumina forming austenitic (AFA) steels, already identified as prospective structural materials for Gen IV and Small Modular Reactors (SMR), are in the main focus. Additionally, advanced material solutions for fission and fusion applications are considered as well, in particular weld overlay and coated 15-15Ti for lead-cooled fast reactors (LFR), among others MYRRHA and ALFRED, and coated Eurofer and advanced oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) steel for fusion DEMO. Some of these structural materials are of potential applicability also outside the nuclear field, e.g., HEAs and AFA steels in concentrated solar power (CSP) and coated steels in H2 confinement and CSP. The project is thus cross-cutting in nature because of the target applications, as well as because of the accelerated methodologies for materials discovery, screening and qualification that it pursues, applied at different technology readiness levels (TRLs).

NIMP is involved in 2 work packages of the project:

WP2: COMPATIBILITY WITH COOLANTS

WP2 goals are to explore the compatibility of advanced materials in the environment of different nuclear installations (LFR, MSR, fusion) and evaluate the degradation of mechanical properties in contact with liquid metals or molten salts.

• Assess underlying corrosion phenomena, including their local initiation, by modelling and validate model predictions
• Evaluate cross cutting effects for different coolants and conditions and potential links to renewable energies (CSP)

WP3: ADVANCED MECHANICAL CHARACTERIZATION, THERMAL STABILITY AND MODELLING

The objective of the WP3 is to evaluate the mechanical behaviour and thermal stability at high temperature of the new materials/solutions produced in WP1 by a combination of experiments (conventional and advanced) and modelling activities:

• Design relevant data to feed qualification
• Evaluate thermal stability, by means of advance microstructural and mechanical characterization
• Select screening methods and modelling tools, in view of materials qualification.

NIMP contact person: Dr. Andrei Galatanu