Determination of Thermal Ageing Mechanisms in LWR Primary Circuit Pressure Boundary Material

Funder	Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Recipient Organization	University of Bristol
Country	United Kingdom
Start Date	Sep 30, 2024
End Date	Sep 29, 2028
Duration	1,460 days
Number of Grantees	2
Roles	Student; Supervisor
Data Source	UKRI Gateway to Research
Grant ID	`2923902`

Grant Description

This project will use a combination of advanced microscopy techniques to understand the changes in microstructure of the steel reactor pressure vessel (RPV) at Sizewell B (SZB) under long-term thermal ageing in-service. SZB is a Light Water Reactor with aspirations to generate low-carbon electricity beyond 2050.

To demonstrate safe operation for Long Term Operation, degradation of primary circuit pressure boundary components must be understood and accounted for when modelling normal/fault scenarios.