NE 120- NUCLEAR MATERIALS (4 units)

Effects of irradiation on the atomic and mechanical properties of materials in nuclear reactors. Fission product swelling and release; neutron damage to structural alloys; fabrication and properties of uranium dioxide fuel. (Fall) Wirth

Catalog Description

• Effects of irradiation on the atomic and mechanical
  properties of materials in nuclear reactors. Fission product swelling
  and release; neutron damage to structural alloys; fabrication
  and properties of uranium dioxide fuel.

Course Prerequisites

• Introductory course on properties of materials
  (Engin. 45)
• Upper division course in thermodynamics (Engin.
  115, ME 105, or ChemE 141)

Prerequisite knowledge and/or skills

The course uses the following
knowledge and skills from prerequisite and lower-division courses:

• Mathematics up to ordinary and partial differential
  equations
• Basic thermodynamics, including chemical equilibrium
  and equations of state of gases
• Knowledge of simple crystal structures
• Basic mechanisms of the interaction of high-energy
  particles with solids
• Basic concepts of the elastic and plastic
  behavior of materials
• Behavior of neutrons in light-water reactors

Textbook(s) and/or other required material

• Reference Text: D. R. Olander, Fundamental Aspects
  of Nuclear Reactor Fuel Elements, TID-26711-P1, National Technical
  Information Services (1976) (on reserve in Engieering Library)
• Course Reader: for sale at Copy Central

Course objectives and outcomes

Course Objectives: It is the instructor's
intention to...

• Review those aspects of fundamental solid
  state physics that are pertinent to understanding the effects
  of radiation on crystalline solids
• Show how radiation, particularly by fast
  neutrons, affects the mechanical properties of fuel, cladding,
  and structural materials in a reactor core
• Explain quantitatively the production of
  heat in a fuel rod and the temperature distribution in a fuel
  pellet
• Give an understanding of the behavior
  of fission products in ceramic fuel, how they are formed, how
  they migrate, and how they affect properties of the fuel

Course Outcomes: Students must be
able to...

• Calculate the maximum temperature of an operating
  fuel pin; understand the effect of the heat transfer resistance
  due to the fuel-cladding gap; grasp how the thermal analysis inside
  the fuel rod is connected to the thermal analysis of the flowing
  coolant that is covered in the course NE 161.
• Solve steady heat diffusion problems beginning
  from Fick�s law; understand how the diffusion coefficient is related
  to the mobility of atoms in the crystalline lattice.
• Deal with point defects in solids; how they
  are produced at thermal equilibrium and by neutron irradiation;
  how they agglomerate to form voids in metals or grow gas bubbles
  in the fuel.
• Analyze the processes of fission gas
  release and swelling of reactor fuel.
• Understand how the grain structure of
  ceramic UO₂ influences properties such as creep rate
  and fission product release.
• Understand the concept and quantitative
  properties of dislocations, and how irradiation-produced point
  defects influences their motion and hence material properties.
• Know the principal effects of radiation
  on metals: the "black dot" structure, dislocation loops,
  voids, precipitates, and helium bubbles.

Topics covered

1. Introduction: types of reactor and their materials
   and thermal aspects
2. Crystal structure of solids; point defect types
   and structures
3. Equilibrium concentrations of point defects in
   crystals
4. Diffusion in solids: Fick�s law; atomic mechanisms
5. Elastic behavior of solids; thermoelasticity
6. Plastic deformation and dislocations in solids:
7. Mechanical properties of metals
8. Cavities in solids: pores, bubbles, and voids
9. Fission product behavior in nuclear fuel; swelling
   and release
10. Polycrystalline solids; sintering and grain growth
11. Radiation damage in metals
12. Fast-neutron irradiation effects in metals

Class schedule

• Three 50-minute lectures per week; two office hours
  per week held by the teaching assistant and two per week by the
  instructor

Contribution of course to meeting the professional
component

• This course contributes primarily to the students'
  knowledge of engineering topics, and does provide design experience.
• Materials problems ultimately limit the performance
  and safety of fission power plants, particularly with the current
  industry emphasis on extended burn up and "hot" PWR
  operation. TNE 120 is required for students in the General Nuclear
  Engineering area of emphasis in the three-part division of the
  Department�s curriculum. This course illustrates, through specific
  examples, the materials performance of nuclear fuels and structures,
  with particular emphasis on light water reactors. Design-related
  features of the course include the calculations of fuel-rod temperature
  distributions, evolution of mechanical properties under irradiation,
  and the behavior of fission gases on fuel performance.

Relationship of course to undergraduate degree
program objectives

• This course primarily serves students in the department.
  The information below describes how the course contributes to
  the undergraduate program objectives.
• This course contributes to the reactor-engineering
  component of the Department�s program objectives by providing
  education in the important subdiscipline of nuclear materials.
  It prepares students for work in the materials-related groups
  in nuclear utilities and reactor vendors, as well as providing
  them with a solid background should they wish to pursue graduate
  work in the nuclear materials area.

Assessment of student progress toward course objectives

• Problem sets (nine or ten in the semester): 20%
• Two midterm exams: 40%
• Final exam: 40%