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Study explores aging
of pressure vessels in
nuclear power stations
German scientists participated in the
LONGLIFE project funded by the Euro-
pean Union and coordinated by the
Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf
(HZDR) to investigate how pressure ves-
sels of nuclear power stations age. The
embrittlement during long-term opera-
tion was investigated using many mate-
rial samples in different irradiation
conditions. The mechanical properties of
the irradiated materials can only be tested
in hot cell testing facilities like those at
the HZDR. Researchers are particularly
interested in the influence that the inten-
sity of the radiation (neutron flux) has on
the materials over a certain time interval.
Materials that have been irradiated at a
low neutron flux over many years exhibit
different changes at the atomic level than
materials exposed to a higher neutron
flux over a shorter period of time. This ef-
fect and others that are significant during
long-term irradiation are now being
taken into account during monitoring of
the materials’ aging. .
Hot cell testing facility at the Helmholtz-
Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf allows
analysis of irradiated material samples.
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES • MARCH 2014 7
ArcelorMittal, Chicago, plans to reopen their
long product finishing facility in Harriman,
Tenn. With a goal of fully operating by April,
the company will hire 61 new employees over
the next two years. The facility, which closed
in 2011 due to poor market conditions, re-
ceives billets from ArcelorMittal LaPlace, La.,
reheats them, and rolls them into light struc-
tural shapes and merchant bars for the con-
struction market. The reopening will enhance
the company’s long product portfolio by pro-
ducing 1-3-in. angles and 1-4-in. flats.
.
QuesTek Innovations LLC, Evanston, Ill., announced that its ultrahigh-strength,
high-toughness Ferrium M54TM steel was approved for inclusion in the aerospace
industry’s Metallic Materials Properties Development & Standardization (MMPDS)
Handbook. The company accelerated M54 steel from a clean sheet design to a
precise chemical composition in less than one year, and produced the first 10-
ton ingot the next year. SAE International issued an Aerospace Material Specifica-
tion (AMS 6516) two years later. With the MMPDS approval, M54 steel reached full
flight qualification from clean sheet design in less than six years.