Grant: Alliance Grants

Small modular reactors (SMRs) are advanced nuclear reactors with many advantages, which have modifiable sizes with high efficiency to produce a large amount of low-carbon electricity. For developing safe, clean, sustainable, and efficient SMRs, advanced structural materials are highly demanded. The materials must exhibit high capability to handle exposure to radiation, corrosion, oxidation, and stress at elevated temperatures simultaneously. However, currently used materials for nuclear reactors, e.g., Zr, Ni and Cu alloys and stainless steels are often proven to be insufficient when considering the demands of designing highly reliable and durable future reactors. A new type of non-conventional material, called high-entropy alloy (HEA), has been demonstrated to possess many superior properties over conventional materials. HEA is currently being considered by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Expert Group on Innovative Structural Materials as a promising option for advanced nuclear applications. However, HEAs have not yet been really introduced to the nuclear engineering industry due to various limitations. A number of issues need to be urgently addressed before HEAs can be effectively applied to SMRs. This proposed project would be carried out to address the issues and develop advanced HEAs for highly efficient SMRs that can be reliably utilized for energy production.