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IAEA looks at nuclear techniques for crop resilience
The International Atomic Energy Agency has launched a five-year coordinated research project (CRP) to strengthen plant health preparedness using nuclear and related technologies.
Wheat blast, potato late blight, potato bacterial wilt, and cassava witches broom disease can spread quickly across large areas of land, leading to severe yield losses in key crops for food security. Global trade and climate change have increased the likelihood of rapid, transboundary spread.
J. E. Chafey, D. I. Roberts
Nuclear Technology | Volume 55 | Number 1 | October 1981 | Pages 37-49
Technical Paper | Materials Performance in Nuclear Steam Generator / Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT81-A32830
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
High temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) systems feature a graphite-moderated, uranium-thorium, all-ceramic core and utilize high pressure helium as the primary coolant. The steam generators in these systems are exposed to gas-side temperatures approaching 760°C (1400°F) and produce superheated steam at 538°C (1000°F) and 16.5 MPa (2400 psi). Thus, the design and development of steam generators for these systems require consideration of time-dependent materials behavior, corrosion, fretting, wear, and other related phenomena of concern in all steam generators. The prototype Peach Bottom Unit No. 1 40-MW (electric) HTGR was operated by the Philadelphia Electric Company for a total of 1349 equivalent full power days during a 7-yr period. Upon planned decommissioning of that plant, the forced-recirculation U-tube steam generators and other components were subjected to destructive properties tests and metallurgical examinations. These tests and examinations showed the steam generators to be in very satisfactory condition. The 330-MW(electric) Fort St. Vrain HTGR, owned and operated by Public Service Company of Colorado, and now in the final stages of startup, has achieved 70% power and generated more than 1.5 × 106 MWh of electricity. The steam generators in this reactor are once-through units of helical configuration, and their design and development required considering a number of new materials factors including creep fatigue. Also, because of the once-through design, water chemistry control needed special consideration. Current designs of larger HTGRs also feature steam generators of helical tube once-through design. Materials issues that are important in these designs include detailed consideration of time-dependent behavior of both base metals and welds, as required by current American Society of Mechanical Engineers Code rules, evaluation of bimetallic weld behavior, evaluation of the properties of very large tubesheet forgings, consideration of the gaseous corrosion effects of the primary coolant, and other related factors
