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North American construction is back—smaller and faster—at OPG’s Darlington
“The nuclear renaissance is real here,” said Ontario Power Generation’s Subo Sinnathamby on May 8, one year to the day after OPG secured a final investment decision to build the first of four planned BWRX-300 reactors at its Darlington nuclear power plant, and shortly after the new reactor’s foundation was lifted into place. “We got our license to construct in April and our [final investment decision] in May, and we’ve been off to the races since.”
Kevin J. Chan, Preet M. Singh
Nuclear Technology | Volume 206 | Number 11 | November 2020 | Pages 1751-1768
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2020.1809311
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Austenitic alloys such as austenitic stainless steels and Ni-based alloys have been specified as container materials for molten salt reactors (MSRs). In MSR environments, these alloys are susceptible to carburization because (1) graphite components provide a source of carbon, (2) oxide films are not protective in molten halide salts, and (3) MSR operating temperatures fall within the temperature range of carbide formation. Carburization may occur simultaneously with corrosion by the selective dissolution of Cr. To study the corrosion behavior of a carburized microstructure, Hastelloy N, Haynes 244, Haynes 230, and Incoloy 800H samples were pre-carburized at 900°C in a hydrocarbon atmosphere prior to exposure to molten FLiNaK at 700°C. Pre-carburized samples featured a carbide-rich microstructure, particularly near the sample surface. The face-centered-cubic matrix of pre-carburized samples was found to be depleted in Cr, Mo, and to a lesser extent W, which are strong carbide-forming elements. Chromium dissolution in pre-carburized samples was suppressed compared to untreated samples due to the reduction in Cr activity. However, selective attack of the connected carbide structure along grain boundaries was observed in pre-carburized Haynes 230 and Incoloy 800H, which are alloys with high Cr content.