2. Adapting special steels to reactor structures

France relies primarily on pressurized water power plants to generate nuclear electricity. Natural uranium-graphite-gas reactors were the first generation of power plants, and have not been further developed due to their relatively low total energy yield.

We will therefore concentrate on pressurized water reactors, before giving some indications of the problems and adaptations encountered in other types of reactor: boiling water, heavy water, high-temperature gas and fast neutron reactors.

In all cases, manufacturers and suppliers of special steels and alloys have worked together to adapt these products to the particular conditions of use found in nuclear power plants. This required the use of all the knowledge acquired in metallurgy and mechanics, as well as the most sophisticated manufacturing processes developed by steelmakers....