Structural Mechanics in Nuclear Power Technology
Structural components in nuclear power plants, from pressure vessels to piping, are the subject of this MIT OpenCourseWare course. It covers the functional purposes and operating conditions of these components and the mechanical-structural design requirements they must meet, combining mechanics techniques with models of material behavior to judge whether a design is adequate. Topics include mechanical loading, brittle fracture, inelastic material behavior, elevated temperature effects, neutron irradiation damage, and seismic loading. The course draws on nuclear science and engineering, civil and mechanical engineering, treating the reactor as a structural system that must survive decades of stress, heat, and radiation. Materials come from MIT's OpenCourseWare archive and typically include lecture notes and problem sets, free to access with no certificate offered. Intended for advanced engineering students already familiar with mechanics of materials.