"Further qualification of an ageing management module for strain induced corrosion cracking sensitivity screening of conventional power plant components"

Ageing management constitutes a complex, permanent and both safety and economy relevant measure during the whole lifetime of power plant components. It has to address all relevant ageing mechanisms due to specific loads, materials, operating conditions and plant chemistry. One of these mechanisms is strain induced corrosion cracking. It constitutes an important ageing mechanism both in nuclear and conventional plants. Results of dedicated investigations by well-known research institutions (e.g. in Japan and the US) have resulted in proposals for the consideration of this mechanism in fatigue design and assessment.

Strain induced corrosion cracking damages have been observed in conventional power plants inducing costs of repair, replacement and outage. There is a strong need to control, manage and prevent this damage mechanism in the plants. In this context, the Framatome ageing management expert system COMSY can be a powerful tool for the management of strain induced corrosion cracking based on an integral approach using plant specific data – particularly the balance of plant BOP - as the main input.

The work will emanate from a comprehensive literature study including the latest published research results and technical literature / standards concerning strain induced corrosion cracking. Furthermore, the structure and capabilities of the entire ageing management expert system COMSY has to be studied resulting in a familiarity which will enable the further qualification of the strain corrosion cracking module considering the latest research results and design code developments (e.g. VGB Technical Document, ASME CC).

Essential tasks are:

• the implementation of the relevant equations in the software platform COMSY,
• the elaboration of application examples with input data from conventional power plants,
• the assessment and possible adaptation of penalty factors FEN with regard of the specific environment of the water steam cycle of conventional power plants,
• the implementation of component specific stress concentration factors for different typical geometries and
• the consideration of covering strain rates for the operational conditions of conventional power plants.

All steps have to be specified and documented. Further proposals for improvement should be made. The final thesis will meet the requirements of the qualification of the ageing management module named in the title of the thesis.  

We offer:

• an exciting opportunity to work on cutting-edge technology that contribute to the sustainability of the energy sector
• a dynamic and stimulating work environment with a diverse team of experts
• the chance to gain hands-on experience and collaborate with renowned professionals in the field
• a competitive compensation package and attractive benefits 
• opportunities for professional growth

• a passionate and highly motivated student of Materials Science or Mechanical Engineering
• you have good analytical skills and are looking forward to working within a great team of international colleagues