Materials selection and qualification for the Stable Salt Reactor – Wasteburner

Abstract

Selection and qualification of materials is a key step in moving a reactor from a concept to a detailed engineering design. A range of criteria can be used to guide this process including the obvious needs of mechanical performance, but also factors such as availability and prior irradiation experience.

With the unavailability of test reactors of relevant neutron fluence, the availability and extent of this irradiation data becomes key to supporting a safety case. Further there are differences between experimentally collected data, often of limited quantity but with tightly controlled parameters, and operational experience, where hundreds or thousands of specimens will have been irradiated under a range of conditions.

In this talk the optioneering process for a fuel clad for a Gen IV molten salt reactor is discussed with consideration of the knowledge gaps and routes toward qualification.