Molten Salt and Liquid Metal Fast Reactor Materials and Corrosion
This community investigates the structural integrity, thermal performance, and chemical compatibility of materials used in advanced nuclear reactor designs, specifically those utilizing molten salts or liquid metals as coolants.
The research focuses heavily on the interaction between reactor fuels, such as uranium dioxide, and structural alloys, particularly stainless steels and ferritic/martensitic steels. A dominant theme is the corrosion behavior of these metals when exposed to molten chloride salts or lead-bismuth eutectics, including studies on dissolution, precipitation, and phase transformation under high-temperature conditions. The work also encompasses thermal-hydraulic analysis, heat transfer mechanisms, and the design of fuel assemblies and reactor cores. Methods include molecular dynamics simulations and experimental testing of corrosion resistance in oxygen-deficient or saturated environments. The goal is to understand how these materials degrade or perform over time to ensure the safety and viability of fast reactor systems.
This body of work constitutes a significant portion of research tracking for Plutonium, representing 19.2% of all Plutonium-related literature, and 12.0% of Uranium research. It also accounts for 11.0% of Thorium research. The community includes 24,449 papers, with the highest publication volumes found in the Journal of Nuclear Materials, Annals of Nuclear Energy, and Nuclear Engineering and Design.
Recent work continues to examine the corrosion of high-entropy alloys and ferritic steels in lead-bismuth eutectics, as well as the application of Raman spectroscopy in nuclear materials analysis.
Papers behind this description
- Molten Salt Reactors and Thorium Energy — Elsevier eBooks, 2024 — doi:10.1016/c2021-0-01689-8
- Environmental degradation of structural materials in liquid lead- and lead-bismuth eutectic-cooled reactors — Progress in Materials Science, 2022 — doi:10.1016/j.pmatsci.2022.100920
- A review of CFD studies on thermal hydraulic analysis of coolant flow through fuel rod bundles in nuclear reactor — Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2024 — doi:10.1016/j.pnucene.2024.105175
- Review of Molten Salt Corrosion in Stainless Steels and Superalloys — Crystals, 2025 — doi:10.3390/cryst15030237
- Electrochemical processing in molten salts – a nuclear perspective — Energy & Environmental Science, 2023 — doi:10.1039/d2ee02010f
- Progress in Research and Development of Molten Chloride Salt Technology for Next Generation Concentrated Solar Power Plants — Engineering, 2021 — doi:10.1016/j.eng.2020.06.027
- Effect of long-term thermal aging on lead-bismuth eutectic corrosion behavior of 9Cr ferritic/martensitic steel — Journal of Materials Science & Technology, 2025 — doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2024.05.049
- Research status in safety analysis of steam generator tube rupture accident in lead-based fast reactors – A review — Nuclear Engineering and Design, 2025 — doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2025.113904
- Power-to-Heat and Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage: Pathways Toward a Low-Carbon Future for District Heating — Energies, 2025 — doi:10.3390/en18215577
- The effect of Si on the microstructure and corrosion resistance of XSi9Cr ferritic/martensitic steel in oxygen-saturated lead-bismuth eutectic — Corrosion Science, 2025 — doi:10.1016/j.corsci.2025.113079