Advanced Nuclear Materials
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Oxford
Department Name: Materials
Abstract
This proposal aims to maintain and expand the research impact of an internationally-leading team working on advanced structural materials for applications in nuclear fission and fusion reactors. The funding will enable us to support early-career postdoctoral researchers (ECRs) in a flexible manner tailored to their individual career trajectories, by providing job security, mentorship, opportunities for new skills acquisition and CPD training, and will facilitate their developing their own research ideas. Their training and scientific outputs will contribute to the resurgence of UK fission reactor programmes and the UK's internationally leading role in fusion science and technology. It will be a key factor in maintaining the integrity of the multi-skilled Oxford nuclear materials research team, and in developing the careers of its ECRs, and in reinforcing its position as an attractive environment for research, attracting and supporting new talent. The Platform Grant will also provide resources for the team to explore ambitious and novel research avenues, underpinning applications (from UK and international sources) for larger-scale funding to enhance the international position of the UK in nuclear research.
Planned Impact
1) Career development of individual researchers. Platform Grant funding will be used to support and promote the development of technical and research leadership skills of our most promising future research leaders in nuclear materials, with immediate impact on their careers, and in the longer term, on the vitality of this research sector within the UK.
2) Maintenance of critical mass and essential skills of an internationally -recognised research grouping, by buffering funding gaps for our best PDRAs. Thsi will have an immediate effect on our maintaining a coherent skilled team of postdoctoral researchers, helping us to maintain the momentum of our scientific research in nuclear materials, and helping us build our capability further by generating a more attractive research environment for potential new recruits.
3) Underpinning support for a unique UK research capability in a strategically important technological area. This is of national and international importance. For the UK's continuation of its leading role in the development of fusion power, we need to develop our capability so as to have a strong involvement in the design and construction of DEMO reactors, in which a key area is the development and assessment of fusion-capable materials. In fission, it is essential that the UK has expertise in the key technologies, rather than being simply a passive customer of overseas expertise. In new designs, such as Gen IV and/or Small Modular Reactors, the UK has the opportunity to be a more active technology and IP generator. All this will need a substantial and continuing stream of technical and scientific experts. This Platform Grant will have considerable impact in these more strategic aspects, by providing stabilising underpinning support for a centre of excellence in techniques central to design, characterisation and evaluation of improved and new nuclear materials.
2) Maintenance of critical mass and essential skills of an internationally -recognised research grouping, by buffering funding gaps for our best PDRAs. Thsi will have an immediate effect on our maintaining a coherent skilled team of postdoctoral researchers, helping us to maintain the momentum of our scientific research in nuclear materials, and helping us build our capability further by generating a more attractive research environment for potential new recruits.
3) Underpinning support for a unique UK research capability in a strategically important technological area. This is of national and international importance. For the UK's continuation of its leading role in the development of fusion power, we need to develop our capability so as to have a strong involvement in the design and construction of DEMO reactors, in which a key area is the development and assessment of fusion-capable materials. In fission, it is essential that the UK has expertise in the key technologies, rather than being simply a passive customer of overseas expertise. In new designs, such as Gen IV and/or Small Modular Reactors, the UK has the opportunity to be a more active technology and IP generator. All this will need a substantial and continuing stream of technical and scientific experts. This Platform Grant will have considerable impact in these more strategic aspects, by providing stabilising underpinning support for a centre of excellence in techniques central to design, characterisation and evaluation of improved and new nuclear materials.
Organisations
- University of Oxford (Lead Research Organisation)
- Amec Foster Wheeler UK (Project Partner)
- Queen's University (Project Partner)
- Fermilab (Project Partner)
- University of Manchester (Project Partner)
- Forschungszentrum Jülich (Project Partner)
- National Nuclear Laboratory (Project Partner)
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Project Partner)
- Rolls-Royce (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- Shimane University (Project Partner)
- University of Michigan–Ann Arbor (Project Partner)
- EDF Energy (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- University of Huddersfield (Project Partner)
- Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (Project Partner)
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Project Partner)
Publications
Liu J
(2023)
Origin of age softening in the refractory high-entropy alloys
in Science Advances
Liu J
(2023)
Controlling microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-V-Cr-Nb-Ta refractory high entropy alloys through heat treatments
in Journal of Alloys and Compounds
Fletcher C
(2022)
Automated calibration of model-driven reconstructions in atom probe tomography
in Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics
Song K
(2022)
Deformation behaviour of ion-irradiated FeCr: A nanoindentation study
in Journal of Materials Research
Meier M
(2022)
Extending Estimating Hydrogen Content in Atom Probe Tomography Experiments Where H2 Molecule Formation Occurs
in Microscopy and Microanalysis
Jones M
(2022)
Improving the Quantification of Deuterium in Zirconium Alloy Atom Probe Tomography Data Using Existing Analysis Methods
in Microscopy and Microanalysis
Zhang Z
(2022)
The effects of irradiation on CrMnFeCoNi high-entropy alloy and its derivatives
in Progress in Materials Science
Yu H
(2021)
New perspectives on collision cascade damage in self-ion irradiated tungsten from HR-EBSD and ECCI
in Journal of Nuclear Materials
Pickering EJ
(2021)
High-Entropy Alloys for Advanced Nuclear Applications.
in Entropy (Basel, Switzerland)
Liu J
(2021)
The role of ß-Zr in a Zr-2.5Nb alloy during aqueous corrosion: A multi-technique study
in Acta Materialia
Description | New methods for the analysis of nuclear materials have been developed and applied to a wide range of nuclear materials. |
Exploitation Route | Use the new methods |
Sectors | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Energy,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |