Considerable research and development work on the behavior of steam generator tubing materials has been performed during the last ten years. These studies relate mainly to such austenitic alloys as 18-10 stainless steels, Alloys 800, 600, or 690, sometimes with different heat treatments or surface finish. From these studies, tentative conclusions on the best selection to be made for this application are drawn, the different candidate materials being compared with respect to

  1. mechanical and thermal characteristics that can act on design and manufacturing processes of steam generators
  2. susceptibility to corrosion product release in the primary coolant, which is responsible for a good part of the irradiation dose received by the operation and maintenance personnel
  3. corrosion resistance and, in particular, stress corrosion susceptibility in different solutions that are or can be met in operating conditions.