A detailed empirical case study of the motivations of the major objecting group participants at the Hinkley Point "C" Public Inquiry is set in the context of an analysis of the transitions caused to the UK nuclear power policy sector by the privatisation of the ESI. First, historical comparative analysis of the nuclear power policy sectors of the USA, Canada, France and the FRG shows a positive correlation between corporatism and successful implementation of policy, and this is borne out by the case of the UK. It is concluded that a fully developed corporatist policy sector, its authority unchallenged by other systems of representation, will usually be a necessary condition for a successful nuclear programme. The failure to privatise the CEGB nuclear power stations is accounted for in terms of a model of the conflicting aims of the privatisation of monopolistic industries. Second, analysis of interview data gathered during Hinkley "C" Inquiry with major group participants is used, in the context of the model of the policy sector developed earlier, to account for the apparent discrepancy between the allocation of resources by opposition groups to the Hinkley "C" Inquiry and their meagre expectations of rewards from the formal, internal Inquiry processes. It is concluded that: 1. Although groups claimed to be pursuing strategies that were external to the Inquiry process, the nature of the Inquiry limited the success of this approach. 2. The representatives of groups interviewed displayed ambivalence, simultaneously believing participation was worthwhile and that the Inquiry was a sham. 3. Groups' most successful tactic was that of delay through mass objection and participation. The sensitivity of policy implementation to the institutional structure of the policy sector will be of considerable importance to the Government review of the prospects for nuclear power in 1994.

Many of the issues and problems concerning the role of our frameworks and structures of reasoning in the guidance of the process of social and technological development are encapsulated in the debate about nuclear energy. This thesis takes that debate as a context for analysing the rationality of scientific knowledge of society and the role and influence of such knowledge in debate and decision-making about appropriate forms of social and technological development. After an introductory review of the historical, political and economic context of the issues and of the development of UK energy policy over the last 25 years, the body of the thesis is structured into two parts. In the first part, a critical examination of orthodox conceptions of scientific objectivity is followed by an attempt to elaborate an alternative conception of the nature of the rationality of social scientific knowledge founded upon the notions of 'value-contingency' and 'ideology'. This conception is developed through discussions of the role of social problem-solving in providing a basis for the process of knowledge development and of the role of the state in structuring the problem-solving process and the development of social knowledge to provide a complex 'technical' legitimatory framework. The concept of a dominant 'technocratic ideology' is then elaborated and an attempt made to identify and outline the major cognitive and normative components of this ideology. In particular it is conceived of as presenting interrelated ideological accounts of the appropriate form of knowledge development, of the content of the social world and of the appropriate form of knowledge utilisation, which are underpinned by 'materialistic', 'liberalist' and 'rationalist' normative traditions. The second part of the thesis analyses certain aspects of the debate about nuclear energy in order to attempt to identify the role and influence of the 'technocratic ideology' and its normative commitments as elaborated in the first part, with a view to assessing the validity and implications of such a conception. After a review of the major issues of controversy in the debate, covering the economic, safety, environmental, social and political implications of nuclear energy, an attempt is made to clarify and categorise the main dimensions of the dispute in terms of the perception and valuation of economic benefits and 'social costs'. Arguments in support of nuclear power are then examined, themes of 'technocratic rationality' identified and the implications for the conduct of the debate discussed. Two particular aspects of the debate are then examined in detail to identify the influence of normative, ideological themes. Firstly, pro-nuclear perceptions and interpretations of the energy problem are analysed and liberalist and materialist themes identified; in particular tendencies towards the establishment of 'materialist ethical imperatives' are highlighted. Secondly, aspects of the process of consideration of alternative means to the 'solution' of the energy problem are examined including illustrations of the value-contingent nature of the relevant social knowledge, an analysis of the treatment of the issue of demand-side solutions in pro-nuclear arguments, and a brief discussion of the implications of technocratic rationality for the evaluation of the costs and benefits of nuclear power. Finally, conclusions are drawn on the evidence for the influence of technocratic rationality and the normative themes identified, on the political implications of such dominant ideological themes and on limitations of the analysis and further research directions.

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Le remplacement des Stellites, un superalliage base cobalt, en milieu nucléaire dans certaines parties du réacteur en milieu primaire a été étudié depuis les années soixante. Plusieurs nuances de revêtements base Fer et Nickel, sans ou avec très peu de cobalt, ont été développées dans ce sens. La quatrième génération de centrale impose également des conditions de fonctionnement très sévère pour les revêtements durs. L’idée principale de ce travail de thèse est de renforcer des nuances commerciales de superalliages base nickel avec des particules micrométriques et sub-micrométriques d’alumine par plasma d’arc transféré, Cold Spray et coprojection plasma simultanée de poudre et de suspension.Pour les dépôts PTA, l’analyse des dépôts a montré un raffinement de la microstructure mais une répartition inhomogène de l’alumine. L’ajout d’alumine n’a pas influé sur la microdureté des dépôts mais a permis d’améliorer la résistance à l’usure abrasive sous air. Les dépôts obtenus par projection plasma, en combinant projection classique de poudre et de suspension d’alumine, ont montrés un meilleur comportement tribologique sous conditions particulières. Les effets de l’ajout d’alumine dans la matrice ont été étudiés en observant la microstructure et en comparant les propriétés mécaniques des dépôts (micro dureté, et tests tribologiques représentatifs de l’application) pour différents taux de renforts (de 0 à 13% pds). / In nuclear plants, the replacement of hardfacing Stellite, a cobalt-base alloy, on parts of the piping system in connection with the reactor has been investigated since the late 60’s. Various Fe-base or Ni-base alloys, Co-free or with a low content of Co, have been developed in this aim. The 4th generation nuclear plants impose additional or more stringent requirements for hardfacing materials. The idea developed in this work is to reinforce commercial nickel base alloy with addition of micrometric and sub-micrometric alumina particles by Plasma Transferred Arc welding, Cold Spray and simultaneous conventional and suspension plasma spray.For PTA Coatings, the examination of coatings revealed a refinement of the microstructure but an inhomogeneous alumina distribution. The addition of alumina particles did not improve the micro-hardness of coatings but improve their resistance to ambient air abrasive wear.The coatings prepared by plasma spraying, combining powder of metallic matrix and suspension of ceramic particles, showed better tribological performance under particular conditions. The effect of the addition of ceramic particles in the matrix was investigated by observing the microstructure of coatings, and comparing their mechanical behavior (micro hardness and tribological tests representative of the application) for different ceramic particle contents (from 0 to 13 wt%).

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Une bonne connaissance des sections efficaces de l'eau légère est importante, car l'eau est le modérateur le plus employé dans les réacteurs à eau pressurisée (REP), qui fonctionnent à des températures et des pressions avoisinant 550 K et 150 bar. Les sections efficaces neutroniques dans le domaine d'énergie thermique dépendent de la structure et de la dynamique du matériau diffusant, décrites par des lois de diffusion thermiques (TSL). Les évaluations des TSL existantes n’ont pas été validées aux hautes températures et pressions, et doivent être revues. Pour produire de nouvelles TSL, des mesures de la diffusion inélastique des neutrons sur l'eau ont été effectuées à l'Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), à l'aide de deux spectromètres IN4c et IN6. Afin de compléter ces mesures, des simulations de dynamique moléculaire (MD) ont été réalisées en s'appuyant sur deux modèles classiques d'interaction moléculaire, le modèle non polarisable TIP4P/2005f et le modèle polarisable TCPE. Les spectres de fréquence à différentes pressions et températures obtenus grâce aux mesures de temps de vol et aux simulations MD ont été exploités pour développer de nouvelles TSL. Les performances de ces nouvelles bibliothèques ont été testées sur une série de mesures de sections efficaces différentielles, double-différentielles et totales disponibles dans la littérature. Des benchmarks critiques (ICSBEP benchmarks) ont également été utilisés. Les résultats de ces études permettent une meilleure compréhension de l'impact de la température et de la pression sur les TSL dans les applications liées à l'exploitation des REP. / Precise knowledge of light water thermal scattering cross section is important as it is the most widely used moderator in pressurized water reactors (PWRs) which operate at temperature around 550 K and pressure around 150 bar. In the thermal neutron energy region, the cross sections are governed by the structure and dynamics of the scattering material described by thermal scattering law (TSL). There is a need for reviewing the existing TSL evaluations and consequently performing new experiments, to develop new TSL evaluations valid for a large range of temperature and pressure conditions. To generate new TSL for light water, inelastic neutron scattering measurements were carried out at two time-of-flight (TOF) spectrometers, namely the IN4c and IN6, at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), Grenoble, France. A corresponding set of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to complement the experimental data using two classical interaction models for water namely, a flexible non-polarizable TIP4P/2005f and a rigid polarizable TCPE model. Frequency spectra obtained from both TOF experiment and MD simulations at different temperatures and pressures have been analyzed and new TSL evaluations have been developed. The performance of the newly developed TSL evaluations were tested on a series of differential, double differential and total cross section measurements available in the literature. For further verification and validation of the new TSL data, critical benchmarks available in the ICSBEP Handbook, sensitive to TSL have been used. The outcome of this study leads to a better interpretation of the impact of temperature and pressure on TSL in PWR applications.

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