Intergranular segregation and fracture properties of low-alloy steels (SIRA)
The SIRA Chair is a research partnership between Mines Saint-Étienne and the companies Framatome and EDF, winner of the French National Research Agency (ANR) “Industrial Chairs 2024” programme.
The Chair’s objective is to improve understanding of intergranular embrittlement and ageing of low-alloy steel components in nuclear reactors currently in service in France, particularly with a view to a possible extension of plant operating lifetimes beyond 60 years.
The Chair has a €2.2 million budget, funded equally by the partner companies and the ANR.
SIRA Chair
May 28, 2026
Amphi F2 – 158, cours Fauriel, Saint-Étienne
Programme
2:00 PM – Welcome
2:30 PM – Presentation of the SIRA Industrial Chair
3:00 PM – Lectures by Yves Bréchet
The art of ageing well for nuclear power plants
4 PM – Tour of the Auger spectroscopy laboratory and the model alloy development laboratory followed by refreshments
Yves Bréchet is a university professor and materials specialist.
He has worked in particular in physical metallurgy, on the formation of microstructures in metals and alloys, on microstructure–mechanical property relationships, and on the aging of materials under irradiation. He served as High Commissioner for Atomic Energy from 2012 to 2018 and currently chairs the Scientific Council of Framatome. He has been a member of the French Academy of Sciences since 2010.
Frédéric Christien began his career as a lecturer at the University of Nantes, then joined the École des Mines de Saint-Étienne as a professor in 2015. A metallurgy specialist, for the past 25 years he has devoted a large part of his research to the phenomenon of interfacial segregation in metals. He holds the ANR industrial chair “SIRA”.
Registration
Registration open until May 18, 2026.
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