Effects of Radiation on Materials in a Nuclear Reactor Amy Ging Van Vleck High School / Van Vleck ISD Dr. Lin Shao Department of Nuclear Engineering

Nuclear Reactor

Effects of Radiation on Steel in the Reactor Vessel Steel under radiation Irradiation Assisted Stress Corrosion Cracking (IASCC) Radiation + Stress + Environment

From the Lab to the Classroom  In the lab, we are measuring the resistance and resistivity of materials before they are exposed to radiation and after they are exposed to radiation  Resistivity is a measure of how many defects radiation has caused in the material that it has come in contact with  In the classroom, we will perform the same experiments and calculate the resistance and resistivity of provided samples

The Plan…Day One  Introduction / Overview  What is radiation?  How does it affect us in our daily lives?  Radiation Applications – medical, electricity  Tie in with IPC class discussion on the periodic table and radioactive elements

Day Two What is the South Texas Project? What do they do out there? How much? Who uses it? Why do we care? What are the concerns?  Diagram of Plant  Pictures of Damage Homework will be a research project over nuclear power in the United States.

Nuclear Reactor

Effects of Radiation on Steel in the Reactor Vessel Steel under radiation Irradiation Assisted Stress Corrosion Cracking (IASCC) Radiation + Stress + Environment

Day Three  Introduction to Resistance and Resistivity  Resistance V=I R  Resistivity ρ=2πsR  Homework over both equations, with information provided, solving for one variable

Day Four  Hands – On Day (in IPC lab)  Looking at periodic table, which sample should react the least to radiation? Is this material a good choice for use in a reactor?  Use Four Point Probe to measure resistance of provided samples  Work at least one example together as a class  Homework over both equations again, this time over results found in the lab

Day Five  Review of Resistance and Resistivity Activity  What did the results mean? Which sample would react least to radiation?  Conclusion of Information Career opportunities at STP Education necessary for those careers Salary information for careers Possible speaker from STP on this day

Algebra I TEKS and TAKS Covered  a(2) – Algebraic thinking and symbolic reasoning  a(3) – Function concepts  a(4) – Relationship between equations and functions  b(1)B – Gather and record data  b(1)D – Represent relationships  b(1)E – Interpret and make decisions  b(3)A – Use symbols to represent unknowns

Sample Pre-Test Questions Use the following equation to solve problems 4-5, A=l * w 4. Solve the equation for l. a. l=A*wc. l=A/w b. l * w= Ad. l=w/A 5. Solve the equations for w. a. w=A/lc. w=l * A b. l= A/wd. w= l/A

What did I learn this summer?  A very broad understanding of the engineering field  A very narrow understanding of nuclear engineering, particle acceleration and the effects of radiation on materials

And most importantly…  Research is a slow process, filled with ups and downs, starts and stops, successes and failures.  But there is no such thing as failure in research, because we learn from every failure.

Acknowledgements  My family  My co-workers and administration  E3  Nuclear Power Institute  National Science Foundation  Chevron  Texas Workforce Commission

BIG Thanks to….  Dr. Lin Shao  Mark Hollander  Michael Martin, Di Chen, Assel Aitkaliyeva  Drew Mitchell, Josh Willis, Josey Wallace, Ethan Windsor, McIan Amos, Michael General, Alvaro Aranibar, Danny Galicki