NE 591 612 Materials in Light Water Reactors
3 Credit Hours
The objective of the course is to give students a background in materials for Light Water Reactors and to discuss the unique changes that occur in these materials under the reactor environment, so that students understand the limitations put on reactor operations and reactor design by materials performance. In this course, most of the materials issues encountered in the operation of currently operated nuclear power reactors are discussed. In the first part of the course we review basics of LWR designs and the structural/cladding and fuel materials used. We also review basic concepts of physical metallurgy to develop an understanding of the relationship between microstructure and material properties outside of irradiation. In the second part of the course, we describe the process of radiation-material interaction, present the methods to calculate atomic displacement damage produced by exposure to irradiation, and describe the changes in material properties that results from irradiation exposure. In the third part of the course, special attention is given to property changes affecting the fuel and cladding performance and operational safety such as corrosion of the cladding, its hydriding, fuel welling, fission gas release, Pellet-Cladding Interactions. Both mathematical methods and experimental techniques are emphasized.
Prerequisite
MSE/NE 201
No background is required in either Materials Science or Nuclear Engineering beyond
sophomore physics and materials science and engineering basics.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, the successful student will be able to:
- be knowledgeable about materials used in Light Water Reactors.
- understand the basics of physical metallurgy and of the relationship between material microstructure and macroscopic properties, outside of irradiation.
- understand the basic mechanisms of materials degradation in the reactor environment (radiation damage, corrosion, hydriding etc) (in structural and cladding materials as well as the fuel).
Course Requirements
Grading and Exams:
- There will be homework assignments (about 7 in total) and three exams.
- In addition, graduate students will have an extra assignment that will require them to make a literature review of one topic related to the class. A list of possible topics will be given to choose from, or the student may come up with their own topic but will have to discuss it with the instructor and get approval to cover that topic.
The distribution of weights is the following:
| Homework | 10% |
| Exam 1 | 20% |
| Exam 2 | 20% |
| Exam 3 | 20% |
| Extra assignment* | 30% |
Course Outline
- Introduction/ Reactor types/ Materials selection criteria;
- Materials used in LWRs: Zr alloys, steels, UO2
- Crystal structures; Lattice defects; Diffusion Transport processes
- Radiation interaction with matter, Dynamics of damage creation; Methods for calculating
atomic displacement; - Dimensional changes under irradiation;
- Irradiation Hardening and Embrittlement;
- Waterside Corrosion and Hydriding of fuel cladding;
- Fuel evolution under irradiation; Fission gas release and fuel swelling;
Textbooks
Required Textbook: Light Water Reactor Materials Volume I: Fundamentals, Arthur Motta and D.R. Olander
Suggested Readings/Reference Books:
An Introduction to Nuclear Materials, K.L. Murty and I. Charit in addition to class notes.
Materials Science and Engineering: An Introduction, W. D. Callister
Phase Transformations in Metals and Alloys, D.A. Porter and K.E. Easterling
Useful Books for Consultation:
P. Haasen Physical Metallurgy
C. Kittel Introduction to Solid State Physics
M.W. Thompson Defects and Radiation Damage in Metal
B.R.T. Frost Nuclear Materials
Created 11/06/2024