Structural Materials. Innovative Nuclear Installations

The development of new techniques and technologies depends to a large extent on the ability of materials to perform satisfactorily in use and in service. This is particularly true in the nuclear power industry, where high levels of safety, reliability and longevity are essential.

The aim of this article is to present the main materials used in innovative nuclear installations, which have been valorized through an industrial standard, the RCC-MRx code published by AFCEN. The installations concerned are those currently covered by the code's scope of application, namely sodium-cooled fast reactors (RNR-Na), experimental reactors such as the Jules Horowitz reactor (RJH) and fusion installations. It should be noted that the RCC-MRx is the counterpart of another code, the RCC-M, also published by AFCEN, and dedicated to the design of mechanical components for pressurized water reactors.

The article is in two parts:

• firstly, a description of the main structural materials introduced into the RCC-MRx repository, based on feedback from the design and construction of the above-mentioned reactors;

• secondly, the process used to codify them.

From these three different types of installation, it is clear that the approach used to codify a material needs to be adapted, depending on the material's experience in the target environment.