STRUMAT-LTO

During the long-term operation of pressurised water reactors, the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) becomes brittle mainly due to neutron irradiation. Scientists disagree about what causes certain low-copper RPV steels to become fragile at an accelerated rate. Further research is needed to shed light on late irradiation effects. Additionally, since current embrittlement trend equations (ETEs) tend to underpredict RPV embrittlement at higher fluence regimes, efforts are needed to adapt ETEs accordingly. Further research is also required to determine how applicable the master curve approach is at high fluences and for sub-sized specimens in characterising irradiation-induced shifts in reference curves. The EU-funded STRUMAT-LTO project aims to address these scientific gaps in RPV embrittlement by exploiting the Lyra-10 specimens.

Duration: 1 September 2020 - 31 August 2024