Objectives
- To familarise students with the basic aspects of material science as they apply to nuclear systems
- To learn the basic processes of material degradation and ageing due to the nuclear environment (esp. radiation effects and fatigue).
List of topics
- brief review of most important mechanical properties of materials
- stress-strain relationship
- ductile and brittle fracture; ductile-brittle transition
- fatigue failure
- creep
- stress analysis: stress intensity, thermal stresses
- functional requirements of materials in a nuclear environment
- "nuclear" materials: fuel, fuel cladding, moderator/reflector, coolant
- structural materials: reactor internals and vessel, piping, valves
- degradation mechanisms of materials in a nuclear environment
- radiation effects: general principles, atomic displacements, embrittlement, swelling;
- fatigue: due to thermal stresses and stratification
- corrosion: p.m. (to be developed in course "Nuclear Materials II"
- derailed treatment of important materials in a nuclear environment
(especially nuclear-mechanical interactions and relationships)
- fuel and cladding
- moderator/reflector
- structural materials (incl reactor internals, reactor vessel)
References
Benjamin, M., Nuclear Reactor Materials and Applications, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1983
Glasstone, S. & A. Sesonske, Nuclear Reactor Engineering, 4-th Ed, Vol 1, Chapman & Hall, New York, 1994 (Chapter 7: Reactor Materials, pp 406-462)
Amplitude and teaching methods:
- 1 t.m.
- Visits to SCK•CEN laboratories