UN 0901 – Nuclear Material

2016 Version

• Prerequisite: Registration in the UNENE M.Eng. or UNENE Diploma Program

A nuclear reactor presents a unique environment in which materials must perform. In addition to the high temperatures and stresses to which materials are subjected in conventional applications, nuclear materials are subjected to various kinds of radiation which affect their performance, and often this dictates a requirement for a unique property (for example, a low cross section for thermal neutron absorption) that is not relevant in conventional applications. The effects of the radiation may be direct (e.g., the displacement of atoms from their normal positions by fast neutrons or fission fragments), or indirect (e.g., a more aggressive chemical environment caused by radiolytic decomposition). This course describes materials typically used in nuclear environments, the unique conditions to which they are subjected, the basic physical phenomena that affect their performance and the resulting design criteria for reactor components made from these materials.

Course Administration

• Course Outline

• Schedule
  • Session 1 – 
  • Session 2 – 
  • Session 3 – 
  • Session 4 – 

Course Notes

UN 901 Course Material for Enrolled Students

• Session 1 – Introduction and Review of Physical ​Metallurgy
  • Day 1 Daymond
    • Lecture 1 – Introduction (pdf 1.3Mb)
    • Lecture 2 – Crystallography and Point Defects (pdf 1.6Mb)
    • Lecture 3 – Dislocations and Boundaries (pdf 4.3Mb)
    • Lecture 4 – Plastic Instability and Fracture (pdf 3.0Mb)
  • Day 2 Daymond
    • Lecture 5 – Texture-Plasticity-Plastic Anisotropy (pdf 1.1Mb)
    • Lecture 6 – Creep and Fatigue (pdf 1.0Mb)
    • Lecture 7 – Residual Stress (pdf 2.7b)
    • Lecture 8 – Phase Diagrams (pdf 750kb)
• Session 2 – Reactors and Radiation Effects
  • Day 3 Yao
    • Lecture 9 – Physics of Nuclear Reactors and Materials (pdf 920kb)
    • Lecture 10 – Power Reactor Design (pdf 1Mb)
    • Lecture 11 – Radiaton Effects (pdf 1.5Mb)
    • Tutorial
  • Day 4 Yao
    • Lecture 12 – Evolution of Microstructure and Microchemistry (pdf 3Mb)
    • Lecture 13 – Irradiation Induced Deformation – 1 (pdf 1.5Mb)
    • Lecture 14 – Irradiation Induced Deformation – 2 (pdf 1.6Mb)
    • Lecture 15 – Technology of CANDU Pressure Tubes (pdf 1.3Mb)
• Session 3 – Fuel Channels
  • Day 5 Yao
    • Lecture 16 – Metallurgy of Pressure Tubes and Calandria Tubes (pdf 2.2Mb)
    • Lecture 17 – Microstructure of Pressure Tubes (pdf 1.8Mb)
    • Lecture 18 – Deformation of Pressure Tubes (pdf 1.6Mb)
    • Lecture 19 – Corrosion and Deuterium Ingress (pdf 875kb)
  • Day 6 Yao
    • Lecture 20 – Delayed Hydride Cracking and Fracture (pdf 1.8Mb)
    • Lecture 21– Calandria Tubes (pdf 1.7Mb)
    • Lecture 22 – Candu Spacer (pdf 1.7Mb)
    • Tutorial
• Session 4 – CANDU Fuel and Post-Irradiation Examination
  • Day 7 Daymond
    • Lecture 23 – Fuel Design and Manufacturing (pdf 5.9Mb)
    • Lecture 24 – Fuel Operation (pdf 6Mb)
    • Lecture 25 – Fuel Performance (pdf 6Mb)
    • Lecture 26 – CANDU Feeders (pdf 1.5Mb)

• Session 5 – CANDU Out-Reactor Components
  • Day 8 Daymond
    • Lecture 27 – Post-Irradiation Examination (pdf 2.5Mb)​
    • Lecture 28 – Mitigation of Steam Generator Degradation (pdf 2.7kb)
    • Lecture 29 – Steam Generator Design and Degradation Mechanis (pdf 2.7Mb)
    • Tutorial

Course Assignments

• Assignment 1 
• Assignment 2
• Assignment 3
• Assignment 4 

Class Recordings

These are audio and screen capture of the actual classes. BBFlashback was used to create a self standing executable. Just down load and run. Use the View command on the toolbar to adjust the movie screen size. File sizes are large but that is the best we can do at the moment. [These recordings of the actual class are password protected. You will need to register in the course and contact the instructor to receive the password. The username is un901]

• to come

Learning Resources

• DoITPoMS Teaching and Learning Packages – Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge. In particular see Particularly the headings:
  • Atomic Structure – Atomic Scale Structure
  • Atomic Structure – Lattice Planes
  • Atomic Structure – Solid Solutions
  • Atomic Structure – Introduction to Dislocations
  • Atomic Structure – Introduction to Anisotropy
  • Mechanical Behaviour – Slip in Single Crystals
  • Mechanical Behabiour – Fracture of Glass
  • For later in the course, the following may be useful : Techniques for Studying – X-ray Diffraction
• In terms of general materials text books that you might want to borrow from the library or get hold of 2nd hand, I would suggest:
  • Deformation and Fracture Mechanics of Engineering Materials, R.W. Hertzberg , pub. John Wiley & Sons (1995). ISBN# 0471012149.
  • Mechanical Metallurgy, G.E. Dieter, pub. McGraw Hill, year depends on Edition (3rd is most recent I think).
• MIT Open Courseware – 3.11 Mechanics of Materials
•