Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing for PWR System Design and Life Extension

The U.S. depends on its fleet of nuclear facilities for the clean and reliable generation of electricity. With much of the facilities reaching the end of their initial 40-year license, and with electricity demand expected to grow, the U.S. needs methods to extend the lifetime of these facilities for up to 60 years. Degradation of secondary system components from flow assisted corrosion and erosion corrosion damage stands as a significant problem for the life extension of these assets. The repair of damaged components in-situ provides a superior option for sustaining the existing reactor fleet and can result in significant cost savings vs. replacement. The project team proposes to develop advanced, functional gradient cold spray materials to mitigate and repair flow assisted corrosion damage in secondary systems. The repair and mitigation technology can be applied in-situ in the secondary system, allowing for direct repair and life extension, avoiding costly replacement of secondary system components, such as steam generators. The repair of flow assisted corrosion degradation, especially steam generator assemblies, will not only benefit nuclear power generation facilities, but all generation facilities with secondary water loops, which includes fossil fueled facilities. Therefore, the repair approach being developed in this effort will impact a much larger market than just PWR reactors. Additionally, the development of cold spray processing of flow assisted corrosion resistant material could find applications in other electric generation sectors, such as cavitation repair on hydroelectric turbine blades. The proposed method of sustainment of PWR flow assisted corrosion and erosion corrosion issues will allow extended operation of the U.S. fleet to drastically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of the nation for another 20 years. This repair approach also improves the safety of PWR facilities, which provides both a benefit to the plant owner / operator, as well as the general public. VRC Metal Systems has a proven track record of success transitioning advanced technologies to DOD customers and prime contractors. We will use our quality program management system to coordinate the multidisciplinary team and ensure a successful phase I and transition to phase II and beyond.