20 Narrative Essay Topics on Nuclear Corrosion

Writing intelligently about nuclear power, its history and the role it has played in shaping the human environment as we know it, is a technical task that comes with a lot of research which could be quite challenging to the average student. Therefore, understanding aspects of nuclear corrosion in order to select a topic to write on will help you order your thoughts and apply yourself constructively during the research phase.

To overcome the mentioned difficulties above, this article will focus on providing the reader with 20 exciting topics on nuclear material corrosion that can serve as your inspiration, as well as a sample narrative essay which will be written using one of the topics on the list below as its guide. But before going ahead with the list, here is a brief outline of the concept of nuclear corrosion; nuclear corrosion is the corroding of metallic materials used in a nuclear plant due to external influences. Severe corrosion can lead to nuclear accidents and has been responsible for some of the nuclear disasters man has experienced in the 20^th century.

20 Interesting Narrative Essay Topics on Nuclear Corrosion:

1. Material Corrosion in Nuclear Plants and its Economic Effects
2. Effective Methods in Mitigating the Possibility of Nuclear Corrosion
3. Making a Case for the Use of Corrosion Resistant Metals in Nuclear Power Plants
4. Exploring the Role of Corrosion Resistant Metals as Safety Nets in Nuclear Plants
5. Exploring the different Types of Nuclear Corrosion and their Causes
6. Stress Controlled Cracking and its Effects on Nuclear Materials
7. Environmentally Assisted Cracking Effects on Nuclear Materials
8. Irradiation-assisted Stress Corrosion Cracking in Nuclear Power Plants
9. Microbiologically Assisted Cracking and Why They Occur in Nuclear Power Plants
10. Discussing the Different Techniques for Combating Nuclear Material Corrosion
11. A History of Security Measures for Nuclear Power Plants in the United States
12. Securing the Earth’s Environment by Effective Nuclear Waste Disposal Policies
13. Analyzing Nuclear Waste Disposal Deficiencies and their Harmful Effects
14. Nuclear Corrosion: the Trade-off between Disaster and Economic Growth
15. The Effects of Nuclear Corrosion on the Ecosystem
16. How Secure are Nuclear Power Plants: An Objective Analysis of the Nuclear Industry
17. The Economic Benefits of Nuclear Power and Corrosion Mitigation
18. Discussing Next-generation Nuclear System’s Impact on Nuclear Corrosion
19. Mitigating Nuclear Material Corrosion through the Use of Control Policies
20. Investigating the Use of Corrosion Resistant Metal Alloys in Mitigating Nuclear Accidents

Now that you have your narrative essay topics, the next step is developing your essay by making use of facts and figures to investigate, discuss or explain your position on nuclear corrosion. In order to help you do this, a sample narrative essay will be written using one of the topics on the list. This will serve as a simple guide for students on essay writing.

Sample Essay: Material Corrosion in Nuclear Plants and its Economic Effects

During the building of a nuclear power plants, diverse metal and metal alloys are made use of in building nuclear reactors and cores. These metals and alloys are susceptible to corrosion and in situations when metals become corroded; the entire nuclear plant becomes compromised with far-reaching economic effects. My essay will attempt to explore the economic effects of nuclear corrosion in the United States as well as worldwide.

Nuclear corrosion is when external sources which can be environmental cause the metallic materials used in a nuclear plant to corrode. If this corrosion remains unchecked and becomes widespread, the chances of radioactive gasses escaping into the earth’s atmosphere are greatly increased. Sadly, throughout the history of the nuclear industry, corrosion in nuclear plants has been left unchecked and this has led to nuclear disasters in countries such as the former Soviet Union and the United States.

When such accident occur, it damages the environment and lead to excessive capital expenditure to clean up radiation spills or man exclusive zones such as Chernobyl were security guards are kept around its perimeter round the clock. Mitigating these risks and managing corrosion is a very expensive responsibility. Statistics show that the United States spends approximately $20billion to manage issues due to corrosion in its nuclear materials. While in Russia, the spending figures to manage corrosion from its defense department is approximately $10billion annually. The activities that make up this amounts come from paying regulators who inspect nuclear plants round the clock, as well as constantly changing materials that show sign of corrosion.

Other statistics which take into consideration the cost of managing nuclear corrosion in all sectors of a nation’s economy are quite unbelievable. In first world countries—Japan, Russia, United States—where nuclear energy is used in various capacities, the total cost of managing nuclear corrosion covers a 3^rd of these nation’s GDP annually. In the Us, $276billion is spent annually to manage corrosion and the approximately 100 nuclear plants in the country.

It is also important to note that the figures listed above cover only the direct costs of corrosion in nuclear plants. Studies also show that corrosion has its indirect costs which are due power outages, delays, litigations and overhead costs. Taking these indirect expenses into consideration, the number rises to approximately $552billion spent annually as a result of corrosion in the United States. Breaking these figures further into the industries responsible for such expenditure we have; infrastructural expenses costing approximately $22.6billion yearly, utilities at $47billion and production and manufacturing industry at $17.6billion.

In conclusion, it is important to note that even though maintaining nuclear plants and corrosion is an expensive process, these measures are required to eliminate future nuclear disasters. Today, nuclear energy scientist are continuously working to set policies and best practice methods to predict corrosion and building new-age nuclear systems which will drastically reduce the expenses the nuclear industry generates.

Here we come to the end of today’s guide on writing an original narrative essay on nuclear corrosion. We would also like you to note that further reading materials such as this article on 10 facts for a narrative essay on nuclear corrosion coupled with an article on how to write a narrative essay on nuclear corrosion are complementary materials we believe you should read.

References:
King, F. (2009). Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion of Nuclear Waste Containers. Corrosion, 65(4), pp.233-251.
Saji, G. (2013). Chemico-physical causes of Radiation-induced “Long-cell” Action Corrosion in Water-cooled Reactors. Nuclear Engineering and Design, 256, pp.102-116.
Cox, B. (1962). Causes of a Second Transition Point Occurring During Oxidation of Zirconium Alloys. Corrosion, 18(1), pp.33t-36t.
Feron, D. (2011). Nuclear Corrosion Science and Engineering, Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, 58(4).
Maiya, P. & Shack, W. & Kassner, T. (1990). Stress Corrosion Cracking of Candidate Material for Nuclear Waste Containers Pg 46(12), pp.954-963.
Copson, H. & Berry, W. (1960). Qualification of Inconel for Nuclear Power Plant Application 16(2), pp.79t-85t.
Gong, Y., Yang, Z. and Yuan, J. (2011). Failure Analysis of Leakage on Titanium Tubes within Heat Exchangers in a Nuclear Power Plant. Part II: Mechanical Degradation. Materials and Corrosion, 63(1), pp.18-28.