Materials in nuclear energy applications

Abstract

Nuclear energy is growing in importance as a form of clean energy, and many of the limiting factors for its development are materials based. There is a need for materials that can make reactor components that are resilient to extreme environments. This review article highlights multiple studies regarding the state of materials development for nuclear energy. Among the topics discussed are tritium production and how it causes failure, methods of simulating component damage, thermomechanical properties of multi-principal element alloys, and corrosion resistance of nickel alloys. Simulations involving the conditions found in fast and fusion reactors show that fast neutrons cause much shallower and more uniform damage compared to the heavier ions found in fusion reactors. Another important finding is that nickel-based alloys have much higher corrosion resistance than steels, and higher nickel content in these alloys translates to higher resistance.