PhD Studentship in the Development of Novel Radiation Tolerant W Alloys for Nuclear Fusion
4 weeks ago
A 3.5 years joint industry funded PhD studentship is available within the School of Metallurgy and Materials at the University of Birmingham to develop new tungsten alloys for nuclear fusion.
This jointly funded project between Oxford Sigma Ltd and UoB will be supervised by Dr Sandy Knowles and Dr Matthew Lloyd from UoB, and Dr Thomas Davis and Dr Leandro Tanure from Oxford Sigma.
The Materials for Extremes group investigates new alloys for extreme environments from fusion/fission reactors to aerospace gas turbines and concentrated solar power.
This involves the design of fundamentally new alloys by computational methods; production through arc melting, powder metallurgy or additive manufacturing; characterisation using advanced electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction techniques; mechanical testing using macro/micro-mechanical methods and failure investigation; and environmental behaviour under oxidation/corrosion and irradiation damage.
Oxford Sigma is a growing small enterprise focussed on fusion materials expertise.OS are active in commercialisation of materials technologies through active partnerships, contracts, and Memorandums of Understanding that will accelerate and enable practical materials technologies into fusion power plants.
OS provide strategic support to a range of fusion enterprises in their deployment of materials technologies to future power plants.
The UK is a global leader in fusion technology and has an ambitious target to develop commercially viable fusion energy.
The materials used to construct future reactors are exposed to extreme temperatures, plasma erosion and intense neutron irradiation.Tungsten (W) is a leading candidate for components in the divertor, first wall and tritium breeding blanket due to it's high operating temperature window, low activation under neutron irradiation and it's resistance to sputtering under exposure to plasma.
However, W has a comparatively high ductile to brittle transition temperature (DBTT) a poor fracture toughness and undergoes embrittlement when recrystallised.
Radiation damage and transmutation induced embrittlement are major design constraints and may necessitate frequent replacement of irradiated materials, which limits the commercial potential of power plants.
Alloyed W is a promising avenue for improving the performance of W components. Despite decades of development, few W based alloys have been identified with improved mechanical properties.
This project will make use of modern alloy development and characterisation techniques to investigate new W alloy concepts including low-activation W heavy-alloys, refractory high entropy alloys and W based bcc-superalloys with the aim of producing improve ductility and tolerance to radiation damage.
This project would utilise nanoindentation, small punch testing, and micromechanics to test ion irradiated material which can simulate neutron damage.
Such methods also allow the rapid screening to aid in the design & development of next-generation alloys, whilst understanding fundamental material properties that can be used in the development of advanced material models for simulations.
The project builds on existing collaborations between Oxford Sigma and UoB on W alloys for tritium breeder blankets (Project LiFTOFF).
Promising candidate materials will be irradiated using the UoB NNUF high-energy proton and neutron irradiation facilities to evaluate the mechanical performance.
The candidate should have a 1st class Undergraduate or Masters degree (or equivalent) in Materials Science, or related discipline.
A background in microstructural characterisation and/or mechanical testing would be advantageous.To Apply please provide:
curriculum vitae (CV), Cover Letter summarising your research interests and suitability for the position, and the contact details of two Referees.
Please send to Dr Sandy Knowles ).Funded at standard UKRI stipent rate.
-
Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom University of Birmingham Full timeA 3.5 years joint industry funded PhD studentship is available within the School of Metallurgy and Materials at the University of Birmingham to develop new tungsten alloys for nuclear fusion. This jointly funded project between Oxford Sigma Ltd and UoB will be supervised by Dr Sandy Knowles and Dr Matthew Lloyd from UoB, and Dr Thomas Davis and Dr Leandro...
-
Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom University of Birmingham Full timeThe deployment of future nuclear fusion power plants and related technologies, including the UKAEA programme STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) as a demonstrator of net energy generation and plant sustainability, relies on the availability of qualified structural materials in industrial-scale amounts that can withstand the harsh local...
-
Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom University of Birmingham Full timeThe deployment of future nuclear fusion power plants and related technologies, including the UKAEA programme STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) as a demonstrator of net energy generation and plant sustainability, relies on the availability of qualified structural materials in industrial-scale amounts that can withstand the harsh local...
-
Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom University of Birmingham Full timeSupervision and International Collaborations: You will be based at the University of Birmingham and will be co-supervised by the industrial partner Tokamak Energy Ltd. ). This project will involve multi-national collaborators, and so you will have a unique opportunity to work with renowned industrial experts and with world-recognized institutes such as Oak...
-
Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom University of Birmingham Full timeSupervision and International Collaborations: You will be based at the University of Birmingham and will be co-supervised by the industrial partner Tokamak Energy Ltd. ). This project will involve multi-national collaborators, and so you will have a unique opportunity to work with renowned industrial experts and with world-recognized institutes such as Oak...
-
Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom University of Birmingham Full timeSupervision and International Collaborations: You will be based at the University of Birmingham and will be co-supervised by the industrial partner Tokamak Energy Ltd. ). This project will involve multi-national collaborators, and so you will have a unique opportunity to work with renowned industrial experts and with world-recognized institutes such as Oak...
-
Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom University of Birmingham Full timeSupervision and International Collaborations: You will be based at the University of Birmingham and will be co-supervised by the industrial partner Tokamak Energy Ltd. ). This project will involve multi-national collaborators, and so you will have a unique opportunity to work with renowned industrial experts and with world-recognized institutes such as Oak...
-
Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom University of Birmingham Full timeSupervision and International Collaborations: You will be based at the University of Birmingham and will be co-supervised by the industrial partner Tokamak Energy Ltd. ). This project will involve multi-national collaborators, and so you will have a unique opportunity to work with renowned industrial experts and with world-recognized institutes such as Oak...
-
Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom University of Birmingham Full timeStructural steels based on body-centred cubic structures are a preferential option for first wall and breeder blanket components in magnetically-confined fusion tokamak designs, due to their enhanced resistance to radiation-induced void swelling, as compared to face-centred cubic materials, and to their high-temperature mechanical strength. In particular,...
-
Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom University of Birmingham Full timeStructural steels based on body-centred cubic structures are a preferential option for first wall and breeder blanket components in magnetically-confined fusion tokamak designs, due to their enhanced resistance to radiation-induced void swelling, as compared to face-centred cubic materials, and to their high-temperature mechanical strength. In particular,...
-
Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom University of Birmingham Full timeA PhD Studentship is available for a suitably qualified candidate to conduct research leading to the award of a PhD degree in the fields of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering. The successful candidate will join the world-leading Advanced Nano Materials, Structures and Applications (ANMSA) Group, one of the leading academic groups in the field of development...
-
Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom University of Birmingham Full timeStructural materials in nuclear power plants are commonly operating at elevated temperatures in aggressive local environments and complex mechanical stress conditions. The upper temperature limit for the safe operation of a given reactor material or component is dictated primarily by its resistance against thermal creep, i.e. the increasing material's...
-
Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom University of Birmingham Full timeStructural materials in nuclear power plants are commonly operating at elevated temperatures in aggressive local environments and complex mechanical stress conditions. The upper temperature limit for the safe operation of a given reactor material or component is dictated primarily by its resistance against thermal creep, i.e. the increasing material's...
-
PhD Studentship
3 months ago
Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom University of Birmingham Full timeThe terahertz band (100 GHz to 10 THz) lies in-between the frequency range of traditional electronics and optics. This band will form the basis for future 6G communications and is currently getting prominence in trace molecular sensing due to the existence of unique terahertz fingerprints of molecules and the non-invasive, non-ionising nature of terahertz...
-
PhD Studentship
4 weeks ago
Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom University of Birmingham Full timeThe terahertz band (100 GHz to 10 THz) lies in-between the frequency range of traditional electronics and optics. This band will form the basis for future 6G communications and is currently getting prominence in trace molecular sensing due to the existence of unique terahertz fingerprints of molecules and the non-invasive, non-ionising nature of terahertz...
-
Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom University of Birmingham Full timeARCANE is a collaborative research project across three leading UK universities and Rolls-Royce plc. The project aims to develop the state-of-the-art scientific understanding of nucleation defect formation within directionally solidified single crystal (SX) castings, and their role in the reduction in mechanical performance, through novel experimental...
-
Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom University of Birmingham Full timeARCANE is a collaborative research project across three leading UK universities and Rolls-Royce plc. The project aims to develop the state-of-the-art scientific understanding of nucleation defect formation within directionally solidified single crystal (SX) castings, and their role in the reduction in mechanical performance, through novel experimental...
-
Phd Studentship
2 weeks ago
Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom Aston University Full time3-year PhD studentships available for April 2023 (Home fees and UKRI stipend) within the College of Health & Life Sciences.3-year PhD studentships available for April 2023 (Home fees and UKRI stipend) within the College of Health & Life Sciences. Topics cover the biosciences, neuroscience, medicine, optometry, pharmacy, and psychology. See individual...
-
Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom University of Birmingham Full timeProtonic ceramics represent an emergent class of materials that have potential utility in several intermediate-temperature electrochemical applications, including the production of "green" hydrogen. Renewable-derived electricity can be used to drive steam electrolysis to form H2 and O2 products in a proton-conducting ceramic electrolyser (PCCEL). However,...
-
Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom University of Birmingham Full timeProtonic ceramics represent an emergent class of materials that have potential utility in several intermediate-temperature electrochemical applications, including the production of "green" hydrogen. Renewable-derived electricity can be used to drive steam electrolysis to form H2 and O2 products in a proton-conducting ceramic electrolyser (PCCEL). However,...
