The general goal
of the proposal is to connect the materials research activities at national scale, with the actual trends, at international level, in nuclear energy policy (Generation IV initiative - GEN IV). This goal could be accomplished by intensifying the research in the field of materials addressed to fast nuclear reactor structure and internals parts. To answer this strategic objective, the proposers will contribute to the start-up of a national initiative (NuclearMat-IV) aiming: (i) to set-up, a Romanian network of laboratories, groups and individuals with high expertise in materials for applications under extreme conditions (high-pressure, high temperature and fast neutrons), such as conditions in fast neutron reactors are supposed to be; (ii) to be fully compatible with European research activities (supported by national and EU funds) such as European Platforms PT7 (Gas Cooled Reactors) and PT4 (Advanced engineering materials and technologies), as well as with other international scientific initiative (Generation IV International Forum – GIF); (iii) to gather the critical mass of human skill to support the development process of nuclear energy in Romania and EU.

The specific objective
of the program is the establishment of fundamental knowledge, theory and models needed to solve materials-related feasibility issuesfor GEN IV nuclear reactors. The performance of structural materials is limited, in general, by the degradation of physical and mechanical properties due to the exposure to energetic neutrons, high-temperature and high-pressure, or by exposure to the chemical environment provided by the primary coolant medium. In the Gen IV Initiative, although the operating conditions vary significantly from one reactor system to the next, significant commonality exists with regard to the selection of materials for their high-temperature structural components. These common issues can advantageously be addressed in crosscutting tasks as the present proposal does. Since the first planned deployments will be the GFR and LFR systems and the assessments of the materials needs for these systems have not been yet performed, the proposal will focus on production and analysis of materials with properties required by the extreme conditions supposed to be in such reactors. In order to accomplish the specific objective, the proposed activities could be classified as follows: (i) production and properties analysis of ceramics and ceramic composites made of low-activation elements; (ii) development of new approaches for the acceleration of irradiation tests; (iii) irradiation test on significant low activation ceramics and ceramic composites; (iv) dissemination of results; (v) integration in European founded project in the frame of FP7.