High Temperature Alloy Development for Future Nuclear Systems in Korea

A sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) and a very high temperature reactor (VHTR) are being developed according to the national road map of Korea. Until now, the R&D activities on the structural materials for these Gen-IV reactor systems can be summarized to the development of new alloys and evaluation of candidate materials. Extensive effort is being focused on the development of ferritic-martensitic (FM) steels and Fe-base oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloys for the SFR applications. Research activity on Ni-base ODS alloys for the VHTR applications has been also performed, aiming at developing the intermediate heat exchanger materials with superior mechanical properties at high temperatures above 900 °C. Extensive studies have been made on the development of ceramic and composite material for VHTR application and on the simulation of radiation damage. Recently, reduced activation ferritic martensitic (RAFM) steel development is planned to develop structural materials for Korean Test Blanket Module (TBM) as one of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) development program.