Study and Nanoanalysis of Irradiation Effects Group
Presentation of the project:
GENESIS is an instrumental platform for material characterization at a very fine scale. Its principal objective is to develop experimental analysis at the atomic scale for nuclear power plant materials. These studies aim at making determining technological progress in analyzing material damaging caused by neutron irradiation. The results will allow a better understanding of phenomena at the atomic scale and it will improve modelling and simulation on nuclear power plant components’ ageing. Observations at the nanoscale will allow real progress in understanding phenomena that are at the material deterioration origin.
Research themes: Structural research on nuclear materials at the atomic scale:
Material ageing: Reactors for generations II and III:
- Vessel steels: understanding the ageing mechanisms of low alloyed steel under irradiation in order to predict microstructure evolution and thus the material durability
- Internal structures: study of defect formation, segregation and phase transformations under irradiation that causes irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking.
- Primary circuit: Duplex (austeno-ferritic) steels thermal ageing.
New material development: Reactors for generations IV and ITER
- Oxide Dispersion-Strengthened steels (ODS) eloborated by powder metallurgy: links between elaboration and microstructures, oxides precipitation understanding, evolution under irradiation.
- Ferritic-martensitic steels with high Cr concentration for Gen IV: understanding of Si, Ni, Mo role on phase transformations
- Ultrafine grained materials: Development of irradiation resistant materials thanks to nano-structuration.
