Study of Aging Mechanisms for Structural Materials within SAFELIFE Project.

EUROATOM research programs aimed at studying aging mechanisms and remedial procedures for structural materials of nuclear reactor components have been analyzed. Within this framework, projects are carried out focusing on the development of non-destructive techniques applied to thermal aging, neutron embrittlement monitoring, improved surveillance for WWER-440 reactors, dosimetry, and the use of various fracture mechanisms for NPP integrity assessment. Among major achievements are the ATHENA project activities on re-embrittlement model validation after annealing and the effect of chemical composition on the embrittlement rate in RPV steels. A brief description is given of the main results of current EUROATOM projects, as well as the goals of the next stage of research within the SAFELIFE network on the NPP Plant Life Management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]