A virtual kick-off meeting was held for the new Studsvik Material Integrity Life Extension (SMILE) project on 13-14 January 2021 with 60 participants from organisations in eight countries (Belgium, China, the Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States).
SMILE project participants include nuclear regulators, technical support organisations and research organisations, as well as organisations from the nuclear industry. The objective of the five-year project is to investigate and improve the understanding of materials ageing and degradation in metallic components during the operation of a nuclear power plant.
As the operating agent of the SMILE project, Studsvik AB will investigate the materials and components harvested from four reactors at the Oskarshamn and Ringhals nuclear power stations in Sweden that are currently being decommissioned after around 40 years of operation.
The project will provide new insights into the behaviour of materials and modification of materials properties after exposure to realistic boiling water reactor (BWR) and pressurised water reactor (PWR) operating conditions over several decades. The findings of the project will further advance the prediction of materials behaviour under nuclear power plant operating conditions and will also contribute to safety reviews of nuclear reactors.
