Polymeric materials are frequently used in nuclear applications, often with safety relevance. Typical applications include cable jacketing and insulation, sealants, paint coatings and lubricants. Studying aging of polymeric materials become more relevant as the original planned lifetime of the plants is approaching and extensions are carried out or considered. Safety criteria assessment and ageing management needs to be at sufficient level in order to prevent premature component breakdown and avoiding endangering the overall safety.
The research is carried out within the Finnish nuclear safety research program SAFIR. The current project is called SAMPO, Safety criteria and improved ageing management research for polymer components exposed to thermal-radiative environments, and is running from 2019-2022. More information about the project is found in the SAFIR framework plan.
A previous project on Condition Monitoring, thermal and Radiation Degradation of polymers inside NPP containments (COMRADE) has been finalized, project reports are found here.