SCW facilities installed in JRC Petten - past, present and future

Currently there are three SCW loops installed and operated in JRC IE Petten for different kinds of tests such as SSRT (Slow Strain Rate Tests), Crack Growth Rate and CER (Contact Electric Resistance). In summer 2010, a new SCW loop, built by Cormet, was installed in JRC IE Petten. The main difference with the first generation of SCW loops manufactured by Cormet is in new two phase heat exchanger and pre-heater system, which allows water flows up to 20 l/h to be reached even at the maximum parameters. The first tests focused on evaluation of chemistry control at the maximum reachable parameters the loop can achieve, in particular to determine, how effectively the oxygen dosed into the system can be controlled. Conclusions comparing tests under the same conditions using the first generation of SCW loops and the new one are presented. A by-pass system installed in the high pressure part of the loop allows attachment of different loading devices based on pneumatic bellows technology. The first prototype built, which was developed during the common JRC&VTT exploratory research project 'Miniature Size Autoclave Bellows', is described in this paper. (author)