Introduction to Nuclear Materials

K. Linga Murty has been on the faculty of the Nuclear Engineering department at North Carolina State University since 1981 and has been teaching courses in Nuclear Materials. Dr. Murty received his Ph.D. degree in Applied Physics (Materials) from Cornell University (USA) in 1970. He has been awarded numerous awards including the American Nuclear Society Mishima Award (1993), and is the author or coauthor of more than 260 technical papers. Indrajit Charit has been a member of the research staff of the Nuclear Engineering department at North Carolina State University since 2005. He received his Ph.D. degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla (USA) in 2004. Dr. Charit has spent about 8 years working on various research programs involving structural materials. He has published and/or presented more than 30 papers.

• Preface XV1 Overview of Nuclear Reactor Systems and Fundamentals 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Types of Nuclear Energy 21.3 Neutron Classification 31.4 Neutron Sources 31.5 Interactions of Neutrons with Matter 31.6 Definition of Neutron Flux and Fluence 61.7 Neutron Cross Section 71.8 Types of Reactors 111.9 Materials Selection Criteria 281.10 Summary 37Appendix 1.A 37Additional Reading Materials 402 Fundamental Nature of Materials 432.1 Crystal Structure 432.2 Crystal Defects 692.3 Diffusion 89Bibliography 1103 Fundamentals of Radiation Damage 1113.1 Displacement Threshold 1143.2 Radiation Damage Models 1183.3 Summary 125Bibliography and Suggestions for Further Reading 126Additional Reading 1264 Dislocation Theory 1274.1 Deformation by Slip in Single Crystals 1274.2 Other Dislocation Characteristics 1404.3 Dislocations in Different Crystal Structures 1604.4 Strengthening (Hardening) Mechanisms 1674.5 Summary 178Bibliography 180Additional Reading 1805 Properties of Materials 1815.1 Mechanical Properties 1815.2 Thermophysical Properties 240Appendix 5.A 260Appendix 5.B 260Bibliography and Suggestions for Further Reading 265Additional Reading 2666 Radiation Effects on Materials 2676.1 Microstructural Changes 2676.2 Mechanical Properties 2876.3 Radiation Effects on Physical Properties 3066.4 Radiation Effects on Corrosion Properties 3086.5 Summary 314Bibliography 3167 Nuclear Fuels 3197.1 Introduction 3197.2 Metallic Fuels 3217.3 Ceramic Fuels 3477.4 Summary 356Bibliography 357Additional Reading 358Appendix A Stress and Strain Tensors 359Appendix B 367Index 375