Procuring the materials you wish you had last time

In-service materials degradation is one factor which limits the efficiency of steam generators and heat exchanger in Nuclear Power Plant operations. The purpose of this presentation is to review how these observed degradation mechanisms contribute to the specification requirements for the procurement of new materials. It further discusses the steps necessary during procurement to ensure that the materials delivered have the properties needed to minimize their susceptibility to degradation. That includes utilization of technical advancements, lessons learned, degradation avoidance strategies, etc. There is also discussion of changes made to achieve such enhanced resistance to degradation. (author)