Events & news

The MAI is also a training centre !
🌍 We had the pleasure to welcome international students from the #MaNuEn master last week at the #MAI. This master is a 2-year programme for students wishing to work in the #nuclear industry, in #R&D or for research organisations. MaNuEn covers the specificities of materials used in nuclear environment with a particular focus on their durability under irradiation.

💡 This was a great opportunity for them to meet #EDF R&D teams who are at the forefront of the research on nuclear materials ageing processes and who work daily to ensure that our nuclear power plants operate in a safe way on a longer term !

👏 Congratulations to the students for their dynamism throughout the week and many thanks to the #EDF R&D researchers for their availabilities and the quality of the courses given.
Nyhal Lydia MEGHIREF, Yannick Nziakou, Jean-Christophe Le Roux, Romain Verlet, Claire Rainasse, Julien Sanahuja, Rémy Bonzom, Aurore Parrot, Adèle Astorg, Martin Bachet, Yang Shen, Alexis Graux, Andreas Shumm, Pierre-Emile Lhuillier, Chaveli Bitsindou & Jean-Pierre Hutin.

Matteo Canducci, Emanuele Diana, Alessandro Regionesi, Vuk Manojlovic, Fehim Kup, Eloi Pallares Abril, Ria Meston, Lautaro Lopez perezlindo, Daniel Francisco Zarate Parra, Matthieu Robin, Stanislas Raguin, Xavier Ojeda

Master Material Science for Nuclear Energy (MaNuEn) – Grenoble INP – Phelma (grenoble-inp.fr)

After two years of online meetings, we were eager to meet face to face again with #MAI members.
🇯🇵 Last December in Japan, #EDF R&D researchers had the opportunity to meet the Japanese teams from MHI, Kansai/INSS, TEPCO and CRIEPI to share our views and expectations and build common activity roadmaps within the MAI.
💡 Cable ageing, Primary & Secondary Water Chemistry, Vessel Internals, Wear, Stress Corrosion Cracking were the different topics of discussion.
👏 This was an intense and very fruitful week, and as the Director of the MAI, I would like to convey our deep gratitude to our hosts for the very interesting technical workshops and lab tours they have organized for us. I personally want to thank Hing-Ip Wong for introducing me to this exciting community. 

We look forward to our next workshop !

Following Fontevraud 10 conference, Kansai/INSS and MHI visited the MAI at EDF Lab les Renardières. It was a good opportunity to have face-to-face meetings with EDF experts on 2 ongoing MAI projects Kansai/INSS and MHI are contributing in :

• VIP2 : Vessel Internals  project
• CSI2 : Stress Corrosion Cracking

A lab tour was also organized to visit Welding lab, Stress Corrosion Lab and Mechanical Lab.

Many thanks to Kansai/INSS and MHI for making the trip and allow us to have very fruitful discussions that would have been impossible in virtual format.

[#SherlockProjectEDF] Advisory Board of Sherlock project at Cruas nuclear power plant, France.

The objective of Sherlock project is to get a full assessment of a retired Steam Generator (SG) from Cruas 4 plant after 30 years of operation. The Advisory Board took place on 28th June on Cruas site and offered to partners (EDF, #EPRI and #FRA) the opportunity to visit the storage building and see the retired Steam Generator inside. It was impressive to get close to a retired steam generator and imagine in this building all the coming operations to cut and extract all the specimens to be sent to EDF hot Lab (LIDEC).

Shortly, Sherlock project will provide unique destructive examinations on a retired Steam Generator and will improve the asset management of current SGs as well as replaced or future SGs.

‘Quantitative STEM-EDX Analysis of intergranular Segregation Applied to the Study of Reversible Temper Embrittlement of Bainitic and Martensitic Low Alloy’

Phosphorus intergranular segregation in low alloy steels is known to decrease brittle fracture stress and induce intergranular fracture, which causes reversible temper embrittlement. In the nuclear industry, nominally bainitic steels are subjected to this phenomenon and the question of microstructure susceptibility has been raised as literature shows that martensite is more susceptible than bainite. The objective of this study is to understand if this result is related to a different segregation behavior of the two microstructures. The first part of our work establishes a segregation quantification method using STEM-EDX, that was cross-compared with four other analytical techniques. Then, a comparative study of intergranular segregation in bainitic and martensitic 16MND5 steel after different aging treatments is conducted based on the developed analytical method. The results show small microstructural influence on segregation. Phosphorus, nickel, manganese and molybdenum were observed at all types of grain boundaries in both microstructures. The segregation concentrations are higher in prior austenitic grain boundaries than in other types of boundaries. Taking account of the segregation amount in different types of boundaries, the phosphorus bulk depletion is shown negligible.

Finally, using Charpy tests, we confirm the lower susceptibility of bainite to temper embrittlement and conclude that this is not related to a different segregation behavior from martensite.

‘Effect of the presence of oxide inclusions on the prediction of stress corrosion cracking initiation of alloy 600 in PWR environment’

Nickel base alloy 600 contains 16 wt% chromium. It is susceptible to Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) when exposed to primary water environment. A predictive model of SCC (the ‘local’ model) has been developed in the past. It describes the phenomenology of cracking through an incubation stage (oxidation of grain boundaries), initiation (oxidized grain boundary failure) and then crack propagation. It is based on several parameters related to the environmental (temperature, dissolved hydrogen content), the microstructure (intergranular chromium carbides) and the mechanical state (work hardening, stress).  However, the variables specific to industrial surface conditions such as the presence of oxide inclusions are not considered. This work focuses on the evolution of this model by studying the oxidation and SCC behaviors of models A600 that contain oxide inclusions of type Al2O3, MgAl2O4 and MgO and exposed to simulated primary water environment. Thus, characterizations of the initial microstructure were performed. Then, the oxidation behavior of these materials was established with a particular focus on the oxide inclusions. Grain boundary oxidation kinetics as well as oxide inclusion corrosion kinetics were identified. Finally, SCC tests have been performed on U-Bend type specimens and a SCC cracking criterion for grain boundaries that intercept oxide inclusions has been discussed.

On March 15, at the MAI (Material Aging Institute), representatives of 17 major players in France in the field of powder metallurgy in general and additive manufacturing in particular, met to share their experiences on the fracture toughness of alloys manufactured by these new processes. In total, more than 60 academics, researchers and industrialists were able to participate and contribute to this event.

Powder metallurgy in general or additive manufacturing in particular is a rapidly growing field with more and more applications emerging in different industrial sectors. These processes using metal powders have many advantages such as reducing the number of steps and the lead time, optimizing the design and improving the performance of parts. The alloys produced by this technology have excellent mechanical (static) properties that can exceed those of conventionally produced materials. However, the integration of these new processes in the manufacture of safety critical parts faces a major obstacle: the fracture properties of the materials thus obtained, especially in terms of impact strength, are not widely available in the literature and when they are available in some publications, they appear much weaker than those of conventional materials.

During this workshop, the partners shared work done on important industrial alloys (304L, 316L, 17-4PH, Inconel 625…). The three main families of processes were discussed in detail: hot sintering with CIC (Hot Isostatic Compression) and MBJ (Metal Binder Jetting), laser fusion with LPBF (Laser Powder Bed Fusion) and DED (Direct Energy Deposition) and cold deformation with Cold-Spray (ultrasonic spraying of cold powders).

Thank you for the numerous presentations, the diversity and richness of information and visions. We can note the presence of academic laboratories (Mines Paris Tech, Mines Saint Etienne, ENSTA, ENSAM, INP Grenoble, University of Lille, UTBM…) of industrial technical centers (CETIM, CEA, ONERA) and industrial manufacturers and end-users (Volum-E, Framatome, EDF).

During the workshop, several partners expressed their interest in participating in a collaborative project with EDF. The objective is to identify ways to improve the resistance to breakage of these materials. The industrial challenge is to specify and qualify these materials for critical applications in industry.

Bacteria to repair concrete

Speaker : Nhu-Cuong TRAN – Laurent PETIT

Certain bacteria (non-pathogenic) can induce calcium carbonate precipitation when put in an environment favorable to grow them in. This faculty is already used for the restoration and repair of old limestone monuments. It is also successfully tested for soil stabilization in hydraulic structures. Applied to a concrete, this technique leads to deposits of calcium carbonate that completely or partially fill in the porosity and microcracks present on the surface of the concrete (see figure above).

The implementation of this technique is on the principle quite simple; it consists in applying to the surface of the concrete an aqueous solution containing the bacterial culture (non-pathogenic) and the nutritive elements necessary for the development of its activity. The challenge is to adapt this process to concrete whose environmental conditions are not always favorable to the growth of bacteria (pH, relative humidity, temperature). In addition, to be effective and durable, it is necessary to promote treatment in the depth of the concrete.

The implementation of an injection process as well as a work on the bacterial culture with a view to improving the elastic and adhesion properties of the composite calcium carbonate / biofilm, was studied within the framework of the PhD work of Adrien Perrin. This work is carried out in collaboration with the University of Sherbrooke and the Mines Télécom Nord Europe institute. The objective is to assess to what extent this type of technique can be used for the repair of concrete structures in the nuclear industry in addition to or as a replacement for conventional techniques (epoxy resins). After a few reminders on this technique, the main results acquired during this PhD-thesis work will be presented.

The innovation brought by this project is the fact that healing products are natural products. It is anticipated that durability will be better than in other conventional repairments and will have a smaller ecological footprint. Associated costs will be thus smaller.

Replay and presentation are available for MAI and MAI-SN members.

MAI-SN presentation on “Grain refinement and texture randomization in austenitic stainless steels produced by L-PBF (laser powder bed fusion)”

Inside Material Aging Institute – Scientific Network (MAI-SN), the MAI collaborates with leading universities around the world, offering two to three doctoral research programs each year to conduct PhD work on topics related to the aging of materials.

On Monday February7th, MAI-SN organized a PhD work presentation funded by MAI-SN on «Grain refinement and texture randomization in austenitic stainless steels produced by L-PBF » by Leo Monier, Phd Student under the supervision of Arthur Despres, Guilhem Martin, Jean-jacques Blandin and Muriel Veron in the SIMAP Laboratory, Grenoble and under the supervision of Flore Villaret, Yang Shen and Bernard Yrieix at EDF R&D for MAI-SN.

Additive manufacturing is an opportunity for the energy field to produce sophisticated geometries. However, there are still several roadblocks to its use to make a wide variety of parts. One needs to demonstrate that parts produced with conventional processing routes can be substituted by parts fabricated by additive manufacturing. The objective of this work is to shed light on the microstructure-mechanical property relationships of the 316L austenitic stainless steel produced by laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF). Parts made of 316L stainless steels have been fabricated using two different powder batches while keeping the exact same processing conditions. The two powder batches led to very different microstructures. The nominal composition of the two initial powder batches differs slightly. Based on a multi-scale microstructural characterization from the melt pool scale down to the nano-scale, we highlight substantial differences between the two investigated steels. Powder batch 2 leads to a finer grain structure that goes along with texture randomization. The underlying mechanism responsible for grain refinement and texture randomization is discussed and can be considered as an alloy design strategy in the framework of additive manufacturing.

The purpose of the MAI-SN is to create a strong and permanent link between academic researchers and utilities members of MAI.

This master degree is an international 2 years master program for students willing to work in nuclear industry, R&D or research centers. It is designed to train students with basic nuclear engineering knowledge , and fundamental understanding of materials behavior under irradiation i) to predict the aging of nuclear power plants and ii) to meet materials challenges for the future.
Students have a privileged contact with engineers working in the nuclear industry (EDF, CEA) in an international network providing good job opportunities.
MAI has been welcoming the winter training session for many years. Due to covid situation, the course was held online for the second time.
The MAI 2022 session welcomed 7 master students from 5 different countries (Italy, USA, Colombia, Indonesia, Greece). Every year, a lab tour is planned for students to understand how important experimental facilities are in the field of Materials Aging. This year, students could enjoy virtual lab visits with live presentation and interaction.

MAI-SN presentation on “ Experimental evaluation of EDF’s InterGranular Stress Corrosion Cracking (IGSCC) predictive models ”

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Inside Material Aging Institute – Scientific Network (MAI-SN), the MAI collaborates with leading universities around the world, offering two to three doctoral research programs each year to conduct PhD work on topics related to the aging of materials.

On November 24th, MAI-SN organized a PhD work presentation funded by MAI-SN with a presentation on « Experimental evaluation of EDF’s InterGranular Stress Corrosion Cracking (IGSCC) predictive models » by Naganand Saravanan (PhD Student, Oxford University).

Primary Water Stress Corrosion Cracking (PWSCC) is a major problem faced by operators of Nuclear Power Plants for decades. The development of predictive tools to anticipate SCC occurrences is a crucial challenge. New engineering models have to quantitatively predict the evolution of SCC (path and depth vs. time) in 3D industrial components, in order to help end-users to manage the risk of failures.

The Local Model developed by EDF has the ability to predict IGSCC initiation in a phenomenological approach combining experimental and simulation data to overcome the limitations of the empirical Index Model. Local model relies primarily on a cracking scenario and local parameters, defined at grain boundaries.

The purpose of this PhD work is to ensure that the underlying assumptions of the Local Model about SCC mechanisms are realistic enough to make sure the model is reliable for application to reactor components. To this end, experimental and modelling programs were conducted on Alloy 600, a nickel-based alloy widely used in Pressurized Water Reactors, with the following three main objectives:

1. Provide a fully comprehensive experimental dataset suitable for the evaluation of EDF’s IGSCC models
2. Identify the strengths and limitations of the model predictions thanks to the comparison with the experimental datasets
3. Propose improvements of the EDF’s IGSCC predictive model

1		3D polycrystalline aggregate reconstructed from 3D EBSD dataset (16 grains, 185x60x18 µm)
2			3D finite element mesh and orientations
3		CPFEM calculated Principal Stresses for 2.5% applied strain
4		Histogram of the Principal stresses used to estimate the critical stress to fail oxidized grain boundaries (input data of the EDF Local Model)

Figure : 3D equivalent polycrystalline aggregates have been generated from the microstructural data and Crystal Plasticity Finite Element Modeling (CPFEM) local stress evaluations have been done.

The purpose of the MAI-SN is to create a strong and permanent link between academic researchers and utilities members of MAI.

The Materials Aging Institute and RosenErgoAtom offer Materials Degradation Course for Engineers in The Nuclear Industry. We are proud to bring you the best international experts of nuclear industry on material aging issues.

The aim of this course is to start from the fundamentals and provide an integrated and up-to-date picture of materials management in the current LWR fleet with a special emphasis on PWR and VVER Field experience. Degradation management approaches will be described and linked to our current understanding of degradation mechanisms of carbon and low alloy steels, stainless steels, nickel based alloys, concrete and polymers under LWR service conditions.

It will be 100% digital on November 29th to December 3rd 2021.

If you are interested, register here : https://lnkd.in/gS74vnTs

For more information you will find the attached flyer with the agenda.

Flyer MAI Course 2021 and program

Inside Material Aging Institute – Scientific Network (MAI-SN), the MAI collaborates with leading universities around the world, offering two to three doctoral research programs each year to conduct PhD work on topics related to the aging of materials.

On Friday 3rd september, MAI-SN organized a PhD work presentation funded by MAI-SN with a presentation on Understanding the Role of Hydrogen in Stress Corrosion Cracking in Austenitic Alloys by Florence CARRETTE (EDF R&D) and Edwards Roberts (PhD Student from Oxford University).

Austenitic alloys are commonly used in the nuclear industry due to their high corrosion resistance and excellent mechanical properties. However, it is possible for critical structural components made from these alloys to undergo stress corrosion cracking (SCC) under pressurised water reactors (PWR) conditions. As the primary method of material degradation, SCC has been studied extensively for several decades, and many factors have been shown to affect SCC susceptibility, these include cold-work, temperature, and water chemistry. To develop a better mechanistic understand of SCC, further research is required. The main objective of this project is to correlate the SCC crack growth rate’s (CGR) dependency on nickel content, first observed by Coriou and later by Arioka, with both the localised mechanical deformation and hydrogen up-take at PWR temperatures. To meet these aims, three alloys have been systematically tested in every chapter. These include SS316L (12%-Ni), A800 (32%-Ni) and A600 (72%-Ni) as they represent commercially available alloys with a low, intermediate and high nickel contents.

The purpose of the MAI-SN is to create a strong and permanent link between academic researchers and utilities members of MAI.

Figure 1: (left) Fore-scattered diode images of a cross-section of a nanoindent in cold-worked SS316L with no corrosion. (right) Geometrically necessary dislocations generated during nanoindentation, calculated by correlative techniques from transmission Kikuchi Diffraction data.

The purpose of the MAI-SN is to create a strong and permanent link between academic and industrial world.

MAI-SN is proud to offer a scientific day on « Aging Modelling to optimize plant operation ».

Material aging in power plant can hinder the course of operations. Precise physically-based modelling can help to lighten these constraints and to mitigate aging.
During the scientific day, 3 plenary sessions will present latest development in modelling aging processes in metallic alloys, concrete structure and polymers aging. A poster session will also present recent PhD works. Enjoy as well a tour of unique industrial facility on material aging. Remote connection will be available for those who cannot attend in-person. Language : English.
It will be the place where industrials and academic researchers can exchange their experience in this field.
For more information, see the flyer attached

If interested, click on the link to register
https://lnkd.in/gRf8Rrx

Inside Material Aging Institute – Scientific Network (MAI-SN), the MAI collaborates with leading universities around the world, offering two to three doctoral research programs each year to conduct PhD work on topics related to the aging of materials.

On Friday 25^th June, MAI-SN organized a PhD work presentations funded by MAI-SN with a presentation on Characterization of slip bands and their interaction with grain boundaries by Prof. Charlie KAHLOUN, Dr. Giath MONNET (EDF R&D) and Aida MAJOUL (PhD Student).

Components of Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR) are submitted to various in-service loading, neutron flux, thermal fluctuations and aggressive environment, leading to different types of embrittlement, such as thermal fatigue (embrittlement of cooling circuit), Irradiation Assisted Stress Corrosion Cracking (IASCC of baffle bolts), thermal shock (cleavage of RPV steels), etc. Fracture assessment is required to meet the imposed safety margins. In all fracture models, stress concentrations play the key role in crack nucleation and/or propagation. One of the most known and well-identified stress concentration sources is the interaction of slip bands with Grain Boundaries (GBs). This interaction is strongly enhanced during the formation of clear bands (case of irradiated austenitic stainless steels).

This PhD is dedicated to the characterization of slip bands and their interactions with GBs. Once achieved, we expect the results of this work to: (i) provide a valuable set of data for validation of fracture models; (ii) improve predictions of crack nucleation/propagation by accounting for strain localization, so far ignored in the classical framework of crystal plasticity employed in R&D studies.

The purpose of the MAI-SN is to create a strong and permanent link between academic researchers and utilities members of MAI.

Figure 1 : (a) example of topography obtained from the AFM signal, (b) the measured topography in pixels and (c) the fitted topography that can be derived to obtain the GND density tensor

Material aging in power plant can hinder the course of operations.
Precise physically-based modelling can help to lighten these constraints and to mitigate aging.
During this scientific day, we will review how this can be done.
3 sessions related to metals, polymers and concrete will bring out a general overview of the latest developments while a keynote lecture will synthetize the past and recent successes.
It will be the place where industrials and academic researchers can exchange their experience in this field.
If interested, please contact Chaveli.Bitsindou@edf.fr

CIENPI (China International Exhibition on Nuclear Power Industry) is the largest Chinese nuclear industry exhibition. From 14^th to 16^th April, MAI was present at this exhibition.

3 MAI projects were put forward : vessel internals (VIP), polymer aging (POLYAGE) and civil engineering (CISTERN). As digitalization was the main topic of this exhibition, there were many very interesting exchanges on Vessel Internals results and digital twin in CISTERN project (Vercors Mockup).

Inside Material Aging Institute – Scientific Network (MAI-SN), the MAI collaborates with leading universities around the world, offering two to three doctoral research programs each year to conduct PhD work on topics related to the aging of materials.

Last Monday april 12^th, MAI-SN opened a cycle of PhD work presentations funded by MAI-SN with a presentation on High Entropy Alloy (HEA) by Pr. Anna FRACZKIEWICZ (Mines de Saint-Etienne) and Dr. Gilles ADJANOR (EDF/R&D).

High-entropy alloys (HEA) are concentrated alloys having a particularly stable solid solution compared to usual alloys.  Some of them started to receive considerable community interest when several studies pointed out an outstanding combination of mechanical properties allowing both high yield strength and fracture toughness, especially at low (cryogenic) temperatures.

The purpose of the MAI-SN is to create a strong and permanent link between academic researchers and utilities members of MAI. This presentation provided an overview of the potential benefits of HEA for nuclear utilities.

Below is an explanation of the photo :

From left to right and up to down: snapshot of atomic positions in a molecular dynamics simulation of an FeNiCr high entropy alloy (HEA) ; phase stability as predicted by ThermoCalc ; schematic of the saddle point for an atomic diffusion jump as identified by the k-ART code in a free energy landscape ; nanostructure from transmission electron microscopy in an austenitic HEA ; and its structure after thermal aging ; partial recrystallization of an HEA observed by electron backscatter diffusion

On 21 January 2021, EDF, Tianjin University and CNNC held a meeting to launch a tripartite PhD work on ” STUDY ON COUPLING MECHANISM OF FRETTING WEAR AND CORROSION OF HEAT EXCHANGER TUBE UNDER OPERATING ENVIRONMENT “, which will last three years.

Inside Material Aging Institute – Scientific Network (MAI-SN), EDF collaborates with leading universities around the world, offering two to three doctoral research programs each year, with leading institutions to conduct research on topics related to the aging of materials. This is the first time that EDF is cooperating with the University of Tianjin.

Due to the epidemic, this meeting was held using a combination of online and offline methods.

Guorui Zhu presented the progress of the group’s research and the basis for the preliminary work on this project. Antoine AMBARD presented the requirements of the MAI-SN project, XU Tingting presented the research plan of this project, and Shengzan Zhang, the PhD student, presented the research method and the implementation plan of the project.

The success of this meeting laid a good foundation for tripartite cooperation to progress on understanding and mitigating wear issues.

25^th to 29^th January 2021

This master degree is an international 2 years master program for students willing to work in nuclear industry, R&D or research centers. It is designed to train students with basic nuclear engineering knowledge , and fundamental understanding of materials behavior under irradiation i) to predict the aging of nuclear power plants and ii) to meet materials challenges for the future.

Students have a privileged contact with engineers working in the nuclear industry (EDF, CEA and Framatome) in an international network providing good job opportunities.

MAI has been welcoming the winter training session for many years. Due to covid situation, the course was held online.

The MAI 2021 session welcomed 11 master students from 9 different countries (Argentina, Spain, Italy, Jordan, Azerbadjian, Nigeria, Costa Rica, USA). More than 20 instructors from EDF presented EDF facilities and gave lectures on Non-Destructive Testing and Inspections, civil concrete, polymers, chemistry, corrosion and radiolysis, nuclear fuels, mechanical and thermal fatigue and maintenance of NPPs. Some of the instructors used game-based learning platforms to improve the interactivity with students and to make a more lively presentation of EDF facilities.

Cable aging is an industrial challenge for nuclear operators around the world. One reactor can contain as much as 1500 km of cables with material composition such a polymers (plastic) which tend to age with time and operating conditions (humidity, temperature, etc…).

Within the Materials Aging Institute (MAI) – see presentation video below, members such as EDF and CGN are sensitive to this issue. Within the institute, the MAI Scientific Network (SN) gives every year opportunities to MAI members to sponsor 2 to 3 PhD research programs, partnering with universities over the whole world: prestigious universities such as MIT (USA), Oxford University  (UK) or Polytechnique (France) have been involved in research on material aging.

This year, and for the very first time, a PhD program was selected with two universities, including the first ever selected in China: Xian Jiaotong University (XJTU). The program will specifically focus on the thermal-oxidative aging of the polymers used for low voltage cables in power plants.

A four party PhD agreement was signed between EDF-CGN-XJTU-ENSAM Paris in August 2020, kicking-off a 3-year collaboration program.

MAI Scientific Network – EDF, 中广核，西安交通大学（XJTU）和法国国立高等工程技术学校（ENSAM Paris）电缆博士合同

电缆老化是全球核电运营商正在面临的一项重大的工业挑战。通常情况下，一个核反应堆包含长达1500 km的电缆，电缆中的一些材料组分例如聚合物会在一定的运行条件下随着时间而老化。这些材料的老化会给核电站的长期运行带来很大的负面影响。

参见下面的演示视频，在材料老化研究院（MAI）中，EDF和CGN等成员对此问题的研究有着很浓厚的兴趣。MAI科研合作机构（MAI-SN）每年都会给MAI成员提供赞助2至3个博士学位研究计划的机会，与全世界著名的大学合作，例如MIT（美国），牛津大学（英国）或Polytechnique（法国）等，共同对料老化课题进行研究。

今年，也是有史以来第一次，将由两所大学合作进行博士培养计划，其中包括西安交通大学（XJTU）和法国国立高等工程技术学校（ENSAM Paris），这也是MAI-SN首次在中国进行博士培养计划。该计划将特别关注发电厂低压电缆所用聚合物的热氧化老化的课题。

EDF-CGN-XJTU-ENSAM Paris于2020年8月签署了四方博士学位协议，启动了一项为期3年的合作计划。

https://themai.org/a-unique-institute/

Moret-sur-Loing, France

This master degree is an international 2 years master program for students willing to work in nuclear industry, R&D or research centers. It is designed to train students with basic nuclear engineering knowledge , and fundamental understanding of materials behavior i) to predict the aging of nuclear power plants and ii) to meet materials challenges for the future.

Part of the teaching is done by engineers from EDF in the MAI, France. Students have a privileged contact with engineers working in the French nuclear industry in an international network providing good job opportunities.

MAI has been welcoming the winter training session for many years. This unique environment provides students high-end nuclear training with software practices, lab visits and presentations of various topics around nuclear power plants (NPP).

The MAI 2020 session welcomed 15 master students from 12 different countries (Peru, China, France, Bangladesh, Italy, Spain, USA, Poland, India, Sudan, Russia). More than 20 instructors from EDF gave lectures on Non-Destructive Testing and Inspections, civil concrete, polymers, chemistry, corrosion, radiolysis, nuclear fuels, mechanical, thermal fatigue and maintenance of NPPs.

This year, the content of the programme at MAI has been redesigned following extensive consultation with EDF, Framatome and CEA in order to focus more on field feed-back from power plants. The feedback from students was very positive.

More information on the master degree Nuclear Energy http://phelma.grenoble-inp.fr/en/studies/master-material-science-for-nuclear-energy-manuen#page-presentation.

On 15-16th January 2020, the MAI welcomed a delegation from FROG (Framatome owners group) composed of representatives from Framatome, EDF, CGN, CNNP, Vattenfall, KHNP, Engie, EDF Energy, TVO. They hold a 2 days workshop on NNP Containment Building issues, sharing on their operating experience and solutions.

Visit of the Vercors mockup (1/3 scale containment building) on MAI site

Moret sur Loing, France

Every 2 years, the MAI-SN organizes a workshop to gather the world’s experts on micromechanics of cementitious materials with the conviction that micromechanics simulation is more and more essential due to wider and wider variety of cementitious materials used in civil works. In this respect, predictions of mechanical characteristics after aging are an essential complement to experimental testings. Participants from France, China, Austria, Germany could discuss and exchange on the most recent advances in a wide range of fields: thermal expansions, drying, delayed strains, durability, electromagnetic properties of concrete.

This session showed that investigations at the scale where mechanisms occur are more and more possible, taking advantage of advances in small-scale experimental devices and interpretation : ESEM to investigate shrinkage and creep, NMR to characterize moisture distribution and frost damage. New insights on micromechanisms behind creep and thermal expansion of concrete have also been presented.

Suzhou, China

Organized every year by the MAI, the Material Degradation Course (MDC) aims to train engineers/researchers on the issues of aging materials for nuclear power. In order to be as close as possible to its Asian partners, the course was organized this year in China, in Suzhou, in the new premises of CGN/SNPI, one of MAI’s historical partners. Thanks to the mobilization of the MAI and CGN/SNPI, the MDC attracted more than 90 participants from Hungary, Korea, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and of course China, represented by the main nuclear operators and research institutes from the academic world.

The panel of instructors, all from MAI member organizations, was also very international as EDF (France), Framatome (France), CRIEPI (Japan) and CGN (China) were able to give courses, each in their field of excellence. A great example of international cooperation in support of one of MAI’s missions, that of training the next generation of researchers/engineers.

Beyond the courses, this week was an opportunity to strengthen collaboration with the MAI partners present through numerous side-meetings on the various MAI projects.

Participants and instructors

MAI新闻速报 | 2019材料老化研究院（MAI）核工业材料老化培训圆满结束

    2019年11月19-22日，法国电力集团（EDF）材料老化研究院（MAI）与中广核苏州热工研究院（SNPI）联合举办的核工业材料老化培训课程圆满结束！

全体学员与讲师合影

课程参与人数超过90人，来自学术界和核工业界，其中不乏外国核电领域的研究人员，他们分别来自匈牙利、阿联酋、韩国和俄罗斯。四天的培训课程主要涵盖了：

• 电站的设计和运营

• 各个部件中使用的材料以及选择原因，制造工艺，焊接

• 正在运行电站的腐蚀和老化介绍

• 无损探伤检测

• 反应堆压力容器内部完整性问题

• 蒸汽发生器完整性问题

等备受关注的主题。

为切实提高核工业界材料老化的研究和管理水平，加深国际合作。本次培训邀请了来自法国电力（EDF），中广核（CGN），法玛通（Framatome，日本电力中央研究所（CRIEPI）的18名专家。

全体讲师合影

课程设置采取了先讲课，再提问的模式。每两节课之间的茶歇让学员可以继续对专家提问。以及伴随有专业人员讲解的实验室参观。在课程开始前，EDF中国研发中心也就EDF的开源计算软件体系进行了介绍，获得广泛关注。

讲师对学员的提问进行解答

学员参观实验室

在课程的最后，由François CATTANT（EDF机械与设备部专家，MAI破坏性分析特邀专家）和Abderrahim AI MAZOUZI （EDF材料力学部门项目经理，专家，NUGENIA欧洲第二代与第三代反应堆协会国际执行协会秘书长），颁发“国际核工业材料老化培训”结业证书。

附：2019 MAI 材料老化培训课程安排

Entrée du MAI

材料老化研究院(Materials Aging Institute, MAI)是全球领先的核电站材料老化研究中心，其总部位于法国电力集团本部的研发中心。MAI于2008年在EDF研发部成立，其成员均为世界范围内的核电巨头，包括法国电力集团(EDF)，中国广核集团（CGN），日本关西电力公司(関西電力株式会社， KEPCO)， 美国电力研究院（EPRI）, 和法国电力能源公司（EDF Energy）等。MAI的成员企业拥有目前全球超过三分之二的核电装机容量，累计核电机组运行经验超过5000堆年。自成立以来，该研究院已累计管理超过一亿欧元的预算。MAI自创建以来已走过十余年，在当前核电产业的发展背景下，其存在意义比以往任何时候都更加重要。

MAI成功地联合了世界上的主要能源公司，共同解决材料老化的相关问题，以提升运行的安全水平，延长核电厂的寿命，继续生产安全、充足、具有竞争力的无碳电力，维护共同利益。MAI的研究领域涵盖各种材料：不锈钢和合金（反应堆容器内部结构、一回路和二回路）、聚合物材料（电缆、涂层和绝缘体材料）和混凝土结构（反应堆安全壳和乏燃料池）等。主要研究老化机制包括：应力腐蚀开裂、热和辐照引起的脆化、疲劳、化学腐蚀、流动辅助腐蚀、结垢和磨损。

       创立10年以来，得益于法国原委会、法马通、中广核、三菱重工等企业与组织在核电工程和材料研究领域的贡献，MAI的地位不断得到加强。此外，MAI创建了一个由25位合作伙伴组成的科研网络，汇集了来自美国、法国、英国、中国和日本的著名学府和科研机构。MAI欢迎新的工业和学术合作伙伴的加入，尤其是来自中国的合作伙伴。目前已有多个中国大学加入了MAI的合作网络。

我们的联系方式：

EDFCHINA-RnD-software@edf.fr

Chinon, France

The second phase of the Sherlock project was signed in early October 2019. This project, which is unique in its scope, aims to fully examine a retired Steam Generator from the Cruas power plant, in France. The first phase of the project aimed to provide a complete state of the SG based on non-destructive testing and to prepare the logistics for the future. The 2nd phase, which will last until 2023, will provide access to destructive examination on decontaminated and cut parts. These assessments will be carried out at the LIDEC hot laboratory in Chinon, France.

The 1st Working Group of the Sherlock phase 2 project, which brought together the project partners (EDF, EPRI, Framatome), was held in Bollène at Orano DS in October. This Orano entity specializing in dismantling services is responsible for the chemical decontamination of the SG using a specially developed process in the Sherlock project. This was the opportunity to visit the prototype developed by Orano DS to test their process on representative samples manufactured by EDF R&D/MMC (see photo below).

Decontamination Prototype – Triade Laboratory at Orano DS

MAI : a networking week, Moret-sur-Loing, France

During the week of July 1st, the MAI gathered more than twenty members for its annual Program Committee and Governing Board. On this occasion, the Institute organized a scientific seminar on the theme of “On-line Monitoring for Nuclear Component Aging”. These days of exchanges allowed the members of the MAI to strengthen and forge essential links between all the Institute’s stakeholders.

The scientific seminar on online monitoring of nuclear components aging brought together more than 70 participants from all over the world. Its objective was to strengthen the links between MAI and its scientific network, the MAI-SN (MAI-Scientific Network). The MAI-SN is composed of about 25 partners from renowned universities and research institutes in the USA, Japan, the United Kingdom and France. It helps MAI get the latest developments from the scientific community.

Speakers from MAI member utilities presented the nuclear situation in their countries and their activities on this topic. Technical presentations by EDF, research institutes, laboratories and universities on online monitoring of concrete, metallic materials and polymers then provided a unique international and scientific overview of this emerging topic.

Taking advantage of their presence, MAI project managers organized side-meetings with international technical contributors.

During this week, the annual MAI Program Committee and Governing Board were held, in the presence of some twenty members (EDF, EPRI, CGN, EDF-Energy, KANSAI, CEA, FRAMATOME, CRIEPI, MHI). These two steering bodies are essential, since they make it possible to decide jointly on the MAI’s research program and operating rules.

The MAI also took advantage of the presence of its members to hold the advisory boards of the MAI’s International Carbon and Sherlock projects, which bring together some MAI partners in addition to entities from EDF.

The concentration of all these events around the annual visit of MAI members has made it possible to strengthen or establish essential links between all MAI stakeholders: its members, its technical contributors and its scientific network. A week of dense and essential networking for the functioning of the MAI.

TPR Aging Management, Fifth European Nuclear Safety Conference in Brussels, Belgium, under the auspices of the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG).

One of the key topics of the Conference was the conclusion and the follow-up of the first Topical Peer Review (TPR). This first TPR took place in 2017 and 2018 and was the most important nuclear safety exercise in Europe after the post-Fukushima stress tests. It focused on the aging management of nuclear installations, a crucial safety issue of today and tomorrow, particularly considering plans for long-term operation of nuclear reactors.
David Ogle, vice-chair of ENISS*, underlined the key contributions of institutes like MAI to the long-term operation of nuclear reactors.

« Worldwide many operators collaborate through R&D programs to ensure that aging is adequately managed, and I will point for example to the Material Aging Institute as a really good example of our working well»

*European Nuclear Installations Safety Standards: ENISS represents the nuclear utilities and operating companies from 16 European countries. It provides the nuclear industry with a platform to exchange information on national and European regulatory activities, to express its views and provide expert input on all aspects related to international safety standards.

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The objective of this seminar was to discuss the chemistry issues during NPP operation. The two sides exchanged their operation experience and research results for the chemistry issues (primary circuit, secondary circuit, source term…) and the radiation protection issues . The meeting gathered over 30 CGN staff and experts (engineering and site) and 7 EDF staff and experts (R&D, engineering and site). During this seminar, EDF was able to explain how MAI results were implemented on EDF site, especially those coming from CHEOPS(Primary Circuit) and CORDEE2(Secondary Circuit) projects from MAI. A good example of MAI-AN (Application Network) showing that MAI is committed to help its members use R&D results from MAI program.

The Materials Aging Institute (MAI) visited all its Japanese partners – KANSAI, MHI, CRIEPI and TEPCO – at four bilateral seminars. Within the MAI cooperation, bilateral seminars with members aim to maintain and develop the partnership relationship in the field of aging materials. These four intense days made it possible to conduct privileged exchanges with each of the partners on their premises. The MAI project leaders were able to exchange in depth with researchers and technicians already involved in the MAI or working on subjects likely to be of interest to the MAI. The extensive exchanges led to a better understanding of each other’s needs, strengthened existing projects and identified potential new areas for collaboration. It was also an opportunity to visit partners’ laboratories and have rich discussions on laboratory techniques.

This visit highlighted the benefits of the expertise shared at international level, as well as EDF-lab’s facilities dedicated to the study of aging phenomena (FATCOR2, corrosion hall, NDE laboratory, Boréal, Energy). Some of them being unique in the world. The last day was devoted to a visit of the LIDEC in Chinon where the Korean delegation was able to appreciate the very high technical level of this hot laboratory from EDF.

MAI has welcomed CGN-CNPDC during the third VERCORS mockup containment test, which was a major step in the R&D program for LTO of 1300MWe nuclear fleet containment building. CGN-CNPDC could attend the leak test of the mockup and participate in a 2 days civil workshop organized EDF/Technical Division on engineering advances for civil work.

*VERCORS is a 1/3 scale mockup of a 1300MWe containment building, designed to study the material aging and help manage the LTO.

The IAC meeting was held at the MAI. During these two days, operators and research organizations exchanged on the international operating experience and on the ongoing research programs on Irradiation Assisted Stress Corrosion Cracking, especially about the baffle to former bolts but also on other general topics about internals. Vattenfall, EPRI, AXPO, MHI, Tractebel, CEA and EDF participated to the meeting. These two days were an opportunity to share recent experience and information between operators and research organizations, and to discuss current and future research programs. The next edition of this meeting will be organized by MHI and CRIEPI and will take place in Japan in May 2020.

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