Assessment of parameters for simulation of thermal ageing of materials in nuclear power plants using DSC

Summary

Simulation of thermal ageing is an important part of qualification of materials designed for the use in nuclear power plants (NPP). According to standards, the simulation of long-term service thermal ageing is performed isothermally at elevated temperature using Arrhenius methodology. The samples or equipment are aged in thermal chamber, to bring them to the same state as after long-term service time. To proceed a reliable simulation, the testing parameters should be taken very carefully and the accelerator factors should not be too high. The testing temperature and time and the activation energy are the most important parameters. Determination of these factors and the limitations of their use in practice are discussed.