Standardization of eurofer material, a first step toward industrialization

Overview & Synopsis

The diversity and the innovative characteristic included in the fusion technology are in opposition with a codification status, as code and standards are based on the recognized industrial feedback. By definition, no code exists for a real innovative system. The extension of the scope of a code or a standard to innovative systems such as fusion reactors leads to revisit the background of the code to define the requirements to introduce a new process or a new material. The developed methodology has been applied for the introduction of the X10CrWVTa9−1 steel (Eurofer), which is today in the Probationary Phase Rules of RCC-MRx. It was the first time that a “new” material was introduced into the code, new in the sense of non-existing in any current standardization. This process, still in progress, highlights the need to have a minimum of information on the expectation of the code regarding the material data. This paper describes the different steps of the introduction of the Eurofer in the RCC-MRx code as well as the tools developed to facilitate the process.