Nuclear Science and Engineering Center
Nuclear power generation is attracting renewed attention as a green energy source for a decarbonized society, and it is desired that the safety of nuclear facilities be improved. Research Group for Corrosion Resistant Materials is contributing to improvement of the reliability and safety of nuclear equipment by “elucidating corrosion mechanisms,” “investigating reproducible testing methods and life prediction methods,” and “developing highly durable materials” to ensure that metal materials used in the nuclear field do not lose their original functions due to degradation caused by corrosion.
In nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities, several kinds of metals are used in highly corrosive boiling nitric acid, and it is concerned that safety of the facilities will be reduced due to corrosion. In order to improve the safety of the facility, understanding of the corrosion mechanism and novel high corrosion resistant materials are desired.
Localized corrosion, as typified by stress corrosion cracking of in-core structural materials, is one of the problems in nuclear reactors, which are exposed to high temperature, high pressure water environment and strong radiation.
Decommissioning work at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (1F) is performed in a severe corrosive environment that differs from normal operation. In order to ensure the safety of decommissioning work over a long period of time, understandings of corrosion specific to 1F is desired.
In order to develop Accelerator Driven System (ADS), which reduce the volume and hazardousness of radioactive waste, it is important to establish corrosion inhibition technique for steel materials in a lead-bismuth environment.