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MATGEN-IV

NATO Advanced Study Institute on Materials for Generation-IV Nuclear Reactors

September 24 - October 6, 2007

Institut d'Etudes Scientifiques de Cargese - Cargese, CORSICA, FRANCE


Objectives


    Global warming, shortage of low-cost oil resources and the increasing demand for energy are currently key-factors in controlling the world's economic expansion, as well as that of individual countries, under desirable conditions of sustainable and peaceful development. In this context, among possible scenarios for energy production, atomic energy satisfactorily fulfills the criteria of low carbon gas production and high overall yield, through a technology that is already in existence. However, nuclear reactors are also used for the production of nuclear weapons.  Furthermore, in the absence of industrial fast-breeders the use of nuclear fuel is not optimal, and the production of high activity waste materials is at a maximum. These are the principal reasons for the development of a new generation of nuclear reactors, which minimize the undesirable side-effects of current nuclear energy production technology while increasing yields by increasing operation temperatures, thereby opening the way for the industrial production of hydrogen through the decomposition of water.

    The construction and use of nuclear reactors of the so-called fourth generation is hindered by several factors, including performance limitations of known structural materials. Indeed, these are unable to withstand either the high temperatures required or the high radiation doses they would accumulate, if the life of the projected systems had to extend over the periods necessary to achieve low costs (at least 60 years).

    There is therefore a crucial need for the development and industrial production of new structural materials capable of coping with the requirements of these future reactors. Surprisingly, education and research in materials science has attracted decreasing interest in several European countries over past several years, whereas the need for new materials has continuously increased. Furthermore, the small number of scientists currently interested and working on materials for nuclear applications is insufficient to satisfactorily face foreseen and forthcoming needs of structural materials for the 4th generation of nuclear reactors. Therefore, the general approach of the proposed school aims at improving and coordinating basic knowledge in materials science and engineering with specific areas of condensed matter physics, the physics of particle/matter interaction and of radiation damage.


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