An Engineer's Guide to Nuclear Reactor Core Materials

An Engineer's Guide to Nuclear Reactor Core Materials presents everything a reactor engineer needs to know to work on reactor core structural materials and core internals. This book outlines the impact of radiation damage on materials and provides the necessary tools to perform calculations of atomic displacement and transmutation, especially He and H gas production, with the aid of software available in the public domain. An Engineer's Guide to Nuclear Reactor Core Materials includes an explanation of metallurgical properties of reactor components that are dependent on microstructure and alloying elements. The effect of fabrication (and then irradiation) on the microstructure; and modelling of radiation effects and the methods for the determination of microstructure parameters that are needed for modelling are also addressed. The effect of radiation on materials (creep, swelling and hardening) are also described as are rate theory formulations used to model radiation effects. In addition, the book explores how tensors are used and the important properties of common engineering alloys used in nuclear reactors (austenitic and ferritic stainless steels, Ni-alloys, Zr-alloys, graphite). Key features relevant to reactor operation are highlighted, and information needed to evaluate the performance of nuclear reactor materials are also discussed.Intended for nuclear engineers, reactor operations, and academics and students researching nuclear reactors, An Engineer's Guide to Nuclear Reactor Core Materials is sure to be a welcomed reference. - Presents the effects of irradiation on core structural materials - Suggests how to design new nuclear plants and how to select materials for refurbished units - Discusses the mechanical properties of nuclear core materials and how they change during reactor operation