Stress Corrosion Cracking Testing for the Nuclear Industry
Lucideon is home to the largest and most sophisticated high temperature water corrosion facility in the world. Through its prior association with GE Global Research, the lab has amassed over 10,000,000 hours of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) testing experience in a variety of environmental conditions, including BWR and PWR nuclear applications.
Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is a form of material damage that causes the growth of cracks in harsh environments. Failures due to SCC can be unexpected and catastrophic; the precise cause of the failure being difficult to predict without extensive real-world testing. Stress corrosion cracking testing is the best preventative measure to ensure long-term safety and offers a valuable means to extend the operational life of nuclear reactors by mitigating risks associated with material degradation under stress.
Housed in a dedicated facility are thirty-two computer-controlled servo loading systems, with capability up to 250kN. Each stand is equipped with a high-temperature autoclave with excellent temperature control, a closed loop water chemistry control system, and a high-resolution DCPD crack growth measurement system.
An extensive support infrastructure provides a stable and reliable testing environment, which is critical for SCC testing. Multiple power control and backup systems include a large central uninterruptible power supply (UPS) on all critical electrical systems, backed up by an emergency diesel generator with automatic transfer in the event of power failures.
Additional systems include a building-wide tempered water system to ensure thermal stability of the aqueous test environment, and centralised distribution of gases and ultra-high purity water to all systems.
With technical direction provided through the world-renowned expert in SCC Dr. Peter Andresen, and a combined experience of over 100 years' worth of SCC testing at Lucideon, we have established the "gold standard” for stress corrosion cracking testing across the world. Moreover, SCC testing can be applied to other materials designed for use in harsh environments, making it highly relevant for diverse applications such as other energy sectors and extreme conditions in space.
Lucideon is also an approved member of the ICG-EAC group (www.icg-eac.org).
White Papers
This white paper outlines analysis techniques for measuring concentrations of corrosion-assisting elements in nuclear reactors
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