News releases

DEVELOPMENT OF STAINLESS ALLOYS WITH EXTRA-HIGH PURITY FOR ADVANCED NUCLEAR SYSTEM AS WORLDWIDE NEW TECHNOLOGY

Dec. 11, 2008

For Release December 11, 2008
Japan Atomic Energy Agency
Kobe Steel, Ltd



The advanced steel making technology for austenitic alloys registered trade name as EHP® with the extra-high purity grade was established with the collaboration between The Japan Atomic Energy Agency and Kobe Steel Limited. The technology is the output obtained during 2005 to 2008 in fiscal year with based on the project for The Development of Nuclear Systems sponsored by The MEXT in Japan.

[Major characteristics]
  • The markedly life elongation of equipment used in reprocessing plants and reactor core materials is expected by minimizing the risks of the degradation like local attack and cracking accompanied with plant aging in the radiation environments.
  • The welding technology and the quality of welding joints of EHP® alloys can be markedly improved by using the matching filler wire without the dissimilar filler metal.


[Background]
The demand for the advanced austenitic alloys is gradually expanded with the requirement for minimizing the risks caused by the earthquakes according to the new safety guidelines and for elongating the life time of the important nuclear equipment.

[Steel Making Technology]
The commercial scale homogeneous ingot with impurities less than 100ppm can be made from low cost raw material using the combined refining process consisted of the reduction and the evaporation reactions. The potential characteristics of austenitic alloys like the corrosion resistance, anti-irradiation properties, and mechanical properties are maximized by introducing the EHP® refining process.

[Practical Use]
The developments of the steel making process and the composition of alloys were established as the present stage. As the next stage, the technology development for the commercial steel making equipment would be progressed. The application of EHP® alloys is expected to expand by considering the specifications required to the advanced nuclear systems, hydrogen energy systems and so on.

•DEVELOPMENT OF STAINLESS ALLOYS WITH EXTRA-HIGH PURITY FOR ADVANCED NUCLEAR SYSTEM AS WORLDWIDE NEW TECHNOLOGY

online information

Location of environment monitoring posts measuring amount of radiation. (details)

links

International link directory of related websites.