Development and Qualification of Materials for Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors

TerraPower, in collaboration with GE Hitachi, is driving toward the licensure, construction, and operation of the Natrium sodium fast reactor by the end of the decade. A key facet of the Natrium program is the development, qualification, and scaled-up fabrication of materials. This presentation will discuss the strategy for managing materials-related issues affecting design and recent progress toward our goal.

Presented by

Greg Vetterick

Senior Manager of Materials Development and Qualification
Natrium Sodium Fast Reactor Program
TerraPower, LLC.

Greg Vetterick is currently Senior Manager of Materials Development and Qualification for the Natrium sodium fast reactor program at TerraPower, LLC. The MD&Q organization is responsible for material selection, new material development, core component supply chain, materials testing, material property database management, and material qualification for materials that are exposed to neutron fluence and/or sodium metal coolant. Before this, Dr. Vetterick held a number of management and technical roles at TerraPower spanning the Traveling Wave Reactor (TWR), Molten Chloride Fast Reactor (MCFR), and TerraPower Isotopes (TPI) programs . Prior to joining TerraPower, Dr. Vetterick received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Drexel University with a thesis on radiation damage tolerance of nanocrystalline materials. He also received a M.S. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Iowa State University focused on development of wear resistant materials.