MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF

ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR

MATERIALS

CONTENTS

WHAT IS NUCLEAR REACTOR

EVOLUTION OF NUCLEAR REACTOR
WHAT ARE ADVANCED REACTORS
CHALLENGES FOR MATERIALS IN ADVANCED REACTORS
NEED FOR MECHANICAL PROPERTIES IN ADVANCED REACTORS
CANDIDATE MATERIALS FOR ADVANCED REACTORS AND THEIR
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
FUTURE SCOPE
CONCLUSION

WHAT IS A NUCLEAR REACTOR

Nuclear Reactor is a device designed to maintain asteady chain reaction, and thus
producing enormous amount of energy
it maintains steady flow of neutrons, which are generated by the fission of heavy nuclei
based on the purpose they serve, they are classified into research reactors and power
reactors

Research reactorsare operated at universities and research centres in

many countries,
. These reactors generate neutrons for multiple purposes,

INCLUDING
medical diagnosis and therapy,
testing materials and
conducting basic research.

Power reactorsare usually found in nuclear power plants.

Dedicated to generating heat mainly for electricity production,

EVOLUTION OF NUCLEAR REACTOR

nuclear reactor technology has been under continuous development since the first commercial
exploitation of civil nuclear power in the 1950s.
this evolution is what we study as generations of nuclear reactor
each generation is advanced from its earlier generations either in term of cost, technology or safety
generation i nuclear reactors
first commercialised reactors of various designs (gas-cooled / graphite moderated, or prototype water
cooled & moderated),
generation ii nuclear reactors
the standard light-water reactor pressurized water reactors and boiling water reactors in operation
today

generation iii nuclear reactors

these are now in construction in several countries.
the generation-iii designs are an evolution of current light-water reactor (lwr) technology
with improved performance
extended design lifetimes and
more favourable characteristics in the extreme events such as those associated with core
damage
. a typical example is the epr - the european pressurised-water reactor

generation-iv - reactor designs that could be commercially deployed from 2040.

some of them doesn't require neutrons to slow down to thermal level

Hence are able to 'burn' fuel without first slowing down the neutrons, and are
therefore termed fast neutron reactors.
fast reactors are not new - they have existed for decades though have never been
widely exploited commercially.
they have the advantage that they can 'breed' large amounts of fissile material
(pu-239) from fertile material (u-238) and can therefore extract at least 50 times
more energy than current reactors from a given quantity of uranium

what are advanced reactors

Incorporate safety improvements and are simpler to operate, inspect, maintain and repair
The new generation of reactors have:

a standardised design toreduce capital cost and reduce construction time

higher availability and longer operating life,

will be economically competitive in a
range of sizes, further reduce the possibility of core melt accidents

higher burnup to reduce fuel use and the amount of waste

More 'passive' safety features which rely on gravity, natural convection to avoid
accidents

Mechanical and thermal CHALLENGES FOR MATERIALS IN

ADVANCED REACTORS

The main requirements for the materials to be used in these reactor systems are the following:

The in-core materials need to exhibit dimensional stability under irradiation, whether under stress (irradiation creep
or relaxation) or without stress (swelling, growth).

The mechanical properties of all structural materials (tensile strength, ductility, creep resistance, fracture toughness,
resilience) have to remain acceptable after ageing, and

The materials have to retain their properties in corrosive environments (reactor coolant or process fluid).
THESE REQUIREMENTS HAVE TO BE MET UNDER NORMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS, AS WELL AS IN
INCIDENTAL AND ACCIDENTAL CONDITIONS

Severe Environment Conditions during operation

Temperature
Irradiation Levels
Coolant compatibility

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES of materials

mechanical strength.
strength is the property that enables a metal to resist deformation under load.
hardness
hardness is the property of a material to resist indentation and scratching.
there are several methods of measuring hardness, hence the hardness of a
material is always specified in terms of the particular test that was used to
measure this property. rockwell, vickers, or brinell are some of the methods of
testing
toughness
toughness is the property that enables a material to withstand shock and to be
deformed without rupturing. toughness may be considered as a combination of
strength and plasticity

Creep

Creep is a time-dependent deformation of a material while under an applied

load that is below its yield strength. It is most often occurs at elevated
temperature, but some materials creep at room temperature. Creep
terminates in rupture if steps are not taken to bring to a halt.

Fatigue
Load on the material is not constant in actual conditions
It fluctuates under the operating conditions
The mechanical property that comes into picture under
fluctuating load conditions is called fatigue
Fatigue mode of failure is extremely dangerous for a
component as it doesnt give prior warning and failure is
sudden