Course Description
This course deals with structural components in nuclear power plant systems, their functional purposes, operating conditions, and mechanical-structural design requirements. It combines mechanics techniques with models of material behavior to determine adequacy of component design. Considerations include mechanical …
This course deals with structural components in nuclear power plant systems, their functional purposes, operating conditions, and mechanical-structural design requirements. It combines mechanics techniques with models of material behavior to determine adequacy of component design. Considerations include mechanical loading, brittle fracture, in-elastic behavior, elevated temperatures, neutron irradiation, and seismic effects.
Course Info
Instructors
Learning Resource Types
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Problem Sets with Solutions
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Exams with Solutions

The RBMK reactor design pictured above was used at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. This severely flawed design has a “positive void coefficient”, meaning the nuclear chain reaction and power output increases when cooling water is lost. (Image courtesy of U.S. Dept. of Energy’s International Nuclear Safety Center.)