3 ECTS credits
90 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 6009281FNR for all students in the 1st semester at a (F) Master - specialised level.

Semester
1st semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Impossible
Grading method
Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
Can retake in second session
Yes
Taught in
English
Partnership Agreement
Under interuniversity agreement for degree program
Faculty
Faculty of Engineering
Department
Faculty of Engineering
External partners
KU Leuven
Université de Liège
Educational team
Decaan IR (course titular)
Activities and contact hours

24 contact hours Lecture
10 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
3 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study
Course Content

brief review of most important mechanical properties of materials
- stress-strain relationship
- ductile and brittle fracture; ductile-brittle transition
- fatigue failure
- creep
stress analysis: stress intensity, thermal stresses
functional requirements of materials in a nuclear environment
- "nuclear" materials: fuel, fuel cladding, moderator/reflector, coolant
- structural materials: reactor internals and vessel, piping, valves
degradation mechanisms of materials in a nuclear environment
- radiation effects: general principles, atomic displacements, embrittlement, swelling;
- fatigue: due to thermal stresses and stratification
- corrosion: p.m. (to be developed in course "Nuclear Materials II"
derailed treatment of important materials in a nuclear environment
(especially nuclear-mechanical interactions and relationships)
- fuel and cladding
- moderator/reflector
- structural materials (incl reactor internals, reactor vessel

Course material
Handbook (Required) : Nuclear Reactor Materials and Applications, Benjamin, M, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 9780442225599, 1983
Handbook (Required) : Nuclear Reactor Engineering, Glasstone, S. & A. Sesonske, 4-th Ed, Chapman & Hall, New York, 9781461575276, 1994
Additional info

Benjamin, M., Nuclear Reactor Materials and Applications, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1983
Glasstone, S. & A. Sesonske, Nuclear Reactor Engineering, 4-th Ed, Vol 1, Chapman & Hall, New York, 1994 (Chapter 7: Reactor Materials, pp 406-462)

Instructors: Jacqueline Lecompte-Beckers (main instructor) (ULg), Walter Bogaerts (KULeuven) and Ericvan Walle (KULeuve).

Learning Outcomes

Algemene competenties

To familarise students with the basic aspects of material science as they apply to nuclear systems
To learn the basic processes of material degradation and ageing due to the nuclear environment (esp. radiation effects and fatigue).


Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Other Exam determines 100% of the final mark.

Within the Other Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • exam with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 100% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

under construction

Allowed unsatisfactory mark
The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of Nuclear Engineering: Standaard traject