24 Mar (NucNet): The Netherlands-based Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (NRG) hopes to enter into international partnerships with other research institutes so that more data can be generated as part of a project that could help to accurately predict whether the lifespan of light-water reactors (LWRs) can be extended beyond 40 years. NRG and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) are working together on the research project, known as Lyra, which takes samples of steel used in reactor vessels in Western and Russian nuclear plants and irradiates them in the High Flux Reactor at Petten in the Netherlands. The total radiation dose is comparable to the total dose in a reactor core that has been operational for 60 to 80 years. After irradiation, the samples are retrieved from the reactor and studied. NRG said results of the project will be presented during the annual Nugenia international nuclear forum in Amsterdam from 28 to 30 March 2017. LWRs are the most common type of nuclear reactor. Most were designed to operate for 40 years. Consequently, programmes used to monitor the degradation of materials are often designed for 40 years of operation. “The knowledge about the materials degradation processes beyond those 40 years of reactor operation is currently limited,” NRG said.
