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Valery Prunier (Tohoku University). RESEARCH THEMA : PWR steam generator tubes are made of Alloy 600. In the parts of these components that see high residual or services stresses, cracks have been initiated by stress corrosion in prilflary environment.To schedule stearrl generators replacements, it is of major importance to define a model that would be able to predict the way and the rate such cracks grow in existing components. As far as the modelization is concerned, a global formulation can be found in the literature, which is based on the slip dissolution model, and gives information about high propagation rates. Nevertheless some difficulties remain. That is why Electricite de France (EDF) wants to evaluate the advantages of a local forlnulation, in which the laws that govern the material destruction by corrosion are linked to mechanical parameters, together in a finite elements code. FRENCH GRANDES ECOLES SYSTEM : Within the institutions of higher education in France, the Grandes Ecoles are the major training grounds for the nation's leaders in sciences, government and business. The Grandes Ecoles shape the leaders who shape France. The Grande Ecole model provides for a five or six years general curriculunl, the first two of which are devoted to preparatory classes that lead to a competitive entrance examination. ESPCI : the Grande Ecole of Paris for engineering and research in industrial physics and chemistry From a prestigious past (Pierre and Marie Curie, Paul Langevin, Frederic and lrene Joliot-Curie, Georges Claude) to a dynamic present with two Nobel Prize winners in the last two years (Pierre-Gilles de Gennes and Georges Charpak), this Grande Ecole located in the heart of the Latin Quarter in Paris is a world-class research center : 17 laboratories, 11 of them supported by the CNRS, over 230 researchers, including 40 foreign researchers. ESPCI has the objective to train polyvalent engineers in all fields of physics and chemistry for industry and research, through research. The physical and chemical sciences, as well as mathematics, computer science and foreign languages, are studied. During the first three years, 15 hours per week are spent in research laboratories on research projects. The last year is devoted to research at the M. Sc. level. Unique in France : the tutorial system : a highly personalized educational system : for each course, every group of four students gets guidance and advice from a tutor. An other appreciated quality of this Grande Ecole is the excellent faculty to student ratio : there is more than one teacher for every five students. |