Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A method of evaluating a remaining lifetime of structural components of metal alloys, the method comprising the steps of:measuring a change in properties of the structural components of metal alloys based on a degree of short range ordering (SRO); andevaluating the remaining lifetime of the structural components of the metal alloys based on the change in the properties. 2. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the structural components of metal alloys are for use in nuclear power plants. 3. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein SRO occurs in reactor operating conditions. 4. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the structural components of metal alloys are in contact with a coolant in nuclear power plants. 5. The method as set forth in claim 2, wherein the structural components of metal alloys for use in nuclear power plants are made from austenitic Fe—Cr—Ni alloys. 6. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the structural components of metal alloys are selected from a group consisting of coolant pipes, baffles, core barrels, instrumentation guide tubes, holddown springs, upper core supports, lower core supports, upper guide tube structures, core shrouds, bolts and pins. 7. The method as set forth in claim 4, comprising evaluating stress corrosion cracking by evaluating intergranular cracking susceptibility based on a quantitative determination of the degree of SRO. 8. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the properties are selected from a group consisting of hardness, thermal conductivity, and electrical resistivity. 9. The method as set forth in claim 8, wherein the hardness is measured using a nano indentation method. 10. The method as set forth in claim 8, wherein the thermal conductivity is measured in a transient plane source measurement or laser flash method. 11. The method as set forth in claim 8, wherein the electrical resistivity is measured in a four point probe measurement method. 12. The method as set forth in claim 5, wherein the structural components of metal alloys are made from 300 series austenitic stainless steels.