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Environmentally Assisted Cracking Research of Engineering Alloys for Nuclear Waste Repository Containers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2012

Raul B. Rebak*
Affiliation:
GE Global Research, Schenectady, NY 12309, USA
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Abstract

All the countries that operate commercial nuclear power plants are planning to dispose of the waste in underground geologically stable repositories. The materials being studied for the fabrication of the containers include carbon steel, stainless steel, copper, titanium and nickel alloys. The aim of this work is to review results from research performed using the alloys of interest regarding their resistance to environmentally assisted cracking (EAC) under simulated repository conditions. In general, it is concluded that the environments are mild and that the studied metals may not be susceptible to cracking under the planned emplacement conditions.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

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