Innovative cladding materials for advanced accident-tolerant energy systems

Project Information

IL TROVATORE

Grant agreement ID: 740415

DOI

10.3030/740415

Project closed

EC signature date 31 May 2017

Start date 1 October 2017

End date 31 March 2025

Funded under

• Euratom

Total cost

€ 5 418 893,75

EU contribution

€ 4 999 999,25

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITY OF HUDDERSFIELD
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - IL TROVATORE (Innovative cladding materials for advanced accident-tolerant energy systems)

Reporting period: 2020-10-01 to 2022-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The 2011 Fukushima Daichii event demonstrated the need for safer nuclear energy, which can be achieved by developing accident-tolerant fuels (ATFs). ATFs are expected to overcome the technical shortcomings of the standard zircaloy/UO2 fuels, thus relieving the industry from the financial penalty associated with severe accidents causing fuel cladding failure and release of radioactive fission products to the power plant containment & environment.
The main IL TROVATORE objective is to identify promising candidate ATF cladding materials for use in Gen-II/III LWRs and validate them in industrially-relevant conditions, i.e. via neutron irradiation in PWR-like water. The innovative ATF clads should demonstrate significant improvement in performance compared to standard fuel clads (zircaloys), thus taking a step towards safer nuclear energy worldwide. ATF clads must outperform commercial zircaloy clads by satisfying two requirements: (a) achieve a step enhancement in performance during nominal operation conditions & short-lived design-basis transients (<1200C), and (b) maintain hermeticity for prolonged periods during beyond-design-basis accidents (>1200C).
The ATF cladding material concepts studied in the project are:
1. SiC/SiC composite clads: various processing routes, microstructures & performances (mid-term technology).
2. Coated clads: protective coatings on zircaloy substrates; innovative coatings: (a) MAX phases, and (b) doped oxides; industrial coating: chromium (Cr) (near-term technology).
3. GESA surface-alloyed clads: the surface modification of clads aims at the in-service formation of protective oxide scales. The GESA process modifies the surface of clads by means of an intense pulsed electron beam; the depth of the modification is limited, thus not affecting the bulk clad properties (near-term technology).
4. Oxide-dispersed-strengthened (ODS) FeCrAl alloy clads: these alloys combine the high-T oxidation resistance of FeCrAl alloys with the resistance of ODS ferritic alloys to irradiation creep and swelling (mid-term technology).
The successful development of ATF clads will make the carbon-free nuclear energy safer, protecting society & environment; eliminate redundant safety systems in current reactor designs, improving their market profile; and strengthen the competitiveness of European industries in nuclear and non-nuclear sectors.
IL TROVATORE is an international collaboration (Europe, USA, Japan) combining academic excellence with industrial support, involving standardization bodies and nuclear safety regulatory authorities to accelerate the transfer of material innovation to market.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

WP1: supply of SiC/SiC composites (CEA, KU, WH), bulk MAX phases (KU Leuven, DU, UP), bulk & doped oxides (KU Leuven), ODS-FeCrAl alloys (CEA, NFD, ORNL)
WP2: MAX phase & oxide coatings deposited on Zircaloys by various methods (RWTH, LiU, IIT, HSU); FeCrAl-surface modification of Zircaloys (KIT); new oxide barrier layer for Cr-coated zircaloys (IIT)
WP3: pressurelessly (POLITO) & laser-assisted (TUD) joined SiC/SiC composites; testing of joints; TIG-welding Zry-4 end-plugs on uncoated & Cr-coated Optimized ZIRLO rodlets for BR2 irradiation (SCK•CEN)
WP4: advanced materials characterization: µXCT measurements on SiC/SiC composites & joints (UOXF); HRTEM/STEM/EELS on pristine & ion-irradiated & indented MAX phases (LiU); etc.
WP5: aqueous corrosion (330C, PWR water, up to 30 days) in static PARR autoclave & CORTELINI loop (SCK•CEN); high-T steam oxidation (1200C, 1 h) & transient steam oxidation tests up to 1845C (KIT)
WP6: material scoping in-situ ion irradiations (UoH) & PIE by HRTEM/STEM/EELS (LiU); proton irradiation of bulk materials (MAX phases, SiC/SiC composites, etc.) & strain mapping by HRDIC to monitor radiation damage (UoM); synergistic proton irradiation/aqueous corrosion tests on WH/GA CVD SiC at the MIBL (U-M)
WP7: CEE2 & CEE3 safety evaluation process for ATF rodlets & MISTRAL requalified basket & WATCH water conditioning unit (SCK•CEN); 1st material load for cycles 1-3 of BR2 irradiation campaign (SCK•CEN): uncoated & Cr-coated Optimized ZIRLO & SiC/SiC composites; launch (12/02/22) & disruption (16/03/22) of BR2 irradiation campaign after 1st problematic cycle (SCK•CEN)
WP8: APT process development for coated Zircaloys (NNL); review of PIE plan due to delay in the launch of BR2 irradiation (NNL)
WP9: various predictive modelling activities & publishing of methods/results (SCK•CEN, GTT, KTH, UOXF)
WP10: new ISO standard test methods for SiC/SiC composite claddings (activity led by CEA); first steps towards standardization strategy (AFNOR)
WP11: first steps towards exploitation roadmap (WH, R-R)
WP12: Open Access publishing (all); international Conferences (all); etc.
WP13: management of R&D activities; expand collaborations with academia & industries outside Consortium; project extension by 1 year due to delays caused by COVID-19 pandemic (2nd Grant Agreement amendment); etc.

"Spin-off initiatives" of H2020 IL TROVATORE: (i) I-NERI US/EURATOM project PERSEUS (advanced PIE of BR2-irradiated ATF claddings & joints) & (ii) HORIZON SCORPION (radical optimisation of SiC/SiC composite ATF cladding material concept for Gen-II/III LWRs)

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The main project ambition is to be a stepping stone in the global quest for improved nuclear energy safety by delivering proof-of-concept ATF cladding materials. This makes H2020 IL TROVATORE important for the Gen-II/III LWR community, as confirmed by the awarded NUGENIA label.
Moreover, the cross-cutting character of its R&D activities is expected to benefit Gen-IV nuclear fission systems (as confirmed by the awarded EERA JPNM label), fusion, as well as non-nuclear sectors (aerospace, CSP).
If H2020 IL TROVATORE succeeds in achieving its S&T objectives, it will help addressing the global need for safer nuclear energy, aiding industrial stakeholders to bring the achieved innovation to market.
This is in response to the amended Nuclear Safety Directive, which reflects the need for high nuclear safety standards in the EU and encourages cooperation on nuclear safety issues with global impact.
The anticipated financial impacts of the commercialization of the innovative ATF claddings studied in H2020 IL TROVATORE are enormous, not only due to the introduction of new materials in NPPs, but also due to the elimination of redundant safety systems, the prolongation of the lifetime of the current fleet of NPPs, etc.
Additional H2020 IL TROVATORE impacts involve:
• Education & training (E&T): organization of various E&T activities that aim at developing competences needed for the future exploitation of project results
• H2020 Open Research Data Pilot: maximization of open access and re-use of the project data
• Open Access to scientific publications: “green” or “gold” open access publications on project data are uploaded to the Zenodo online repository
• New standards: new standards (material specifications, test standards) will expedite the qualification & licensing process for the innovative ATF cladding materials studied in the project
• New patents: the foreground IP of this project is expected to yield new patents that will protect the commercial exploitability of the innovative ATF cladding materials

BR2 Irradiation & Spin-Off International Collaborations