Life Cycle Management of Structural Components of Indian Nuclear Reactors and Reprocessing Plants

The increasing demands on reliability, safety and economics of nuclear systems translate to challenges in realization of high-performance components for operation at steady state, transient and severe accident conditions. The authors, based on their four decades of research, development and deployment experiences, present a review of findings relating to life cycle management of critical structural components in Indian thermal, fast reactors and reprocessing facilities. The challenges relating to specific structural components are described with highlights of materials to improve life for prolonged service with safety and economics.