Abstract: A powder coating system for difficult to handle powders includes a powder hopper containing fluidized powder particles, a pump body connected to the hopper and having an inlet in communication with the hopper, an ejector nozzle mounted to the pump body and aimed at an outlet thereof, a second nozzle mounted to the pump body and aimed at the inlet thereof and a powder application device for receiving powder particles from the outlet of the pump body and spraying them onto an article to be coated. The ejector nozzle sprays pressurized air toward the outlet to transport powder particles along a flow path which extends from the powder hopper into the pump body via the inlet and then out of the pump body via the outlet. The second nozzle sprays air pulses at the inlet in a direction opposite the particle flow along the flow path caused by the ejector nozzle. This spray from the second nozzle creates microvibrations in the inlet of the pump body to eliminate powder particle adherence and cohesion thereat.

Abstract: This invention provides austenitic steel having a superior resistance to neutron irradiation, a nuclear reactor and a nuclear fission reactor using such steel.In the present invention, austenitic steel containing at least one of Pd and Pt is used for a member which undergoes neutron irradiation in high-temperature water. More specifically, the steel consists essentially of not more than 0.02% C, not more than 1% Si, 0.5-15% Mn, 9-26% Cr, 8-20% Ni, 0.5-3% Mo, at least one kind of 0.1-16% selected from the group consisting of Pd and Pt, and not less than 50% Fe, and may further contain not more than 1.0% of at least one kind selected from the group consisting of Nb, Ti, Zr, Hf and V, and this is used for structural members in a core of a nuclear reactor and a nuclear fission reactor.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for estimating the remaining service life of an object by measuring the physical quantity of a sample and which are applicable to a nuclear reactor. A plurality of model samples are experimentally prepared by preliminarily disposing a material having substantially the same composition as the object to be subjected to the estimation in an environment substantially the same as the object and measuring the physical quantities of the model samples in relation with exposure times. From this experiment, a relationship between the exposure time and the physical quantity under such an environment is obtained. Further, a critical exposure time which will cause an unstable fracture of a material of an actual sample, which is made of a material substantially the same as the object and placed in substantially the same environment as the object, is preliminarily obtained from the relationship between the exposure time and the physical quantity for the model samples.

Abstract: An austenitic steel excellent in resistance to neutron irradiation embrittlement which contains, by weight, not more than 0.03% carbon, not more than 1% silicon, 5 to 25% manganese, 15 to 26% chromium, and 10 to 20% nickel, the ratio of atomic volume of chromium to the average atomic volume of matrix of the steel being from 0.900 to 1.030. It is possible to add to the austenitic steel, besides the above-mentioned alloying elements, at least one element selected from the group consisting of niobium, titanium, zirconium, tantalum and vanadium which are effective in corrosion resistance and irradiation embrittlement under neutron irradiation in total amounts of not more than 1.0%. At least one of components composing the inside of a nuclear reactor or nuclear fusion reactor is made of the austenitic steel.