Radiation Damage Of Structural Materials

Maintaining the integrity of nuclear power plants is critical in the prevention or control of severe accidents. This monograph deals with both basic groups of structural materials used in the design of light-water nuclear reactors, making the primary safety barriers of NPPs. Emphasis is placed on materials used in VVER-type nuclear reactors: Cr-Mo-V and Cr-Ni-Mo-V steel for RPV and Zr-Nb alloys for fuel element cladding. The book is divided into 7 main chapters, with the exception of the opening one and the chapter providing a phenomenological background for the subject of radiation damage. Chapters 3-6 are devoted to RPV steels and chapters 7-9 to zirconium alloys, analysing their radiation damage structure, changes of mechanical properties due to neutron irradiation as well as factors influencing the degree of their performance degradation. The recovery of damaged materials is also discussed. Considerable attention is paid to a comparison of VVER-type and western-type light-water materials. This monograph will be of great value to postgraduate students in nuclear engineering and materials science, and for designers and research workers in nuclear energy.

The effect of fast-neutron (>1 Mev) irradiation on the mechanical properties of structural metals and alloys was studied. Although the yield strengths and ultimate tensile strengths are increased su stantially for most materials, the ductility suffers severe decreases. This report presents these changes in properties of several structural metals for a number of neutron exposures within the 1.0 x 10 to the 18th power to 5.0 x 10 to the 21st power n/sq cm range. Data summarizing these effects on several classes of materials such as carbon steels, low-alloy steels, stainless steels, Zr-base alloys, ni-base alloys, Al-base alloys, and Ta are given. Additional data which show the influence f irradiation temperatures and of post-irradiation annealing on the radiation-induced property changes are also given and discussed. Increases as great as 175% in yield strength, 100% in ultimate strength, and decreases of 80% in total elongation are reported for fast-neutron exposures as great as 5 10 to the 21st power n/sq cm. (Author).