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Fractography and fracture toughness analysis on Bainitic steels for nuclear power plants 1

Introduction

Because of their high strength and fracture toughness Bainitic steels are the main structural materials for high end applications. Among those applications are also rector pressure vessels for current generation nuclear power plants. In order to evaluate the applicability of different sorts of Bainitic steels for their application in nuclear power plants it is of high importance to thoroughly characterize and understand their microstructure and its influence on the mechanical properties. In this internship a specific batch of material will be investigated and tested.
Due to uniqueness of the available material this topic is suited for a longer term internship (>3 months) or a master thesis.

Objectives

This internship is designed as a small project where the candidate follows the material from documentation of the received samples till the final reporting of the gained results. Among the activities are:
- Conducting mechanical tests including independently operating testing machines and analyzing after an appropriate training period.
- Fractography using state of the art optical and electron microscopes
- Reporting of the gained results

Le niveau de diplôme minimum du candidat

  • Secondary education
  • Professional bachelor

Les connaissances préexistantes nécessaires

  • Materials science, nuclear engineering

La durée estimée

4-6 months

Le groupe d'experts

Matériaux de Structure

SCK CEN Mentor

Stergar Erich
erich.stergar [at] sckcen.be
+32 (0)14 33 31 80

SCK CEN Co-mentor

Uytdenhouwen Inge
inge.uytdenhouwen [at] sckcen.be
+32 (0)14 33 31 71