PhD Studentship - Understanding In-reactor Formed Oxides on Cladding Material by X-ray Diffraction Analysis

This is funded by EPSRC scholarship; your tuition fees will be paid and you will receive an annual stipend of at least £19,237 The funding is available to UK, EU and overseas nationals.

We are a large, international research community, based within the landmark Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials at the University of Manchester, and with partners across the UK, Europe, N. America and Australasia. Our research focuses on the metallic materials used in nuclear reactors, working with industry to develop improved understanding of these materials. Our ongoing aim is to help achieve safer, more efficient, and more cost-effective low-carbon power generation with reduced waste and environmental impact. Your project will be industrially supported by Westinghouse and will focus on using of state-of-the-art experimental techniques to investigate the mechanisms that control oxide formation in fuel cladding in civil nuclear reactors. Zirconium alloys are used for fuel rod cladding tubes and fuel assembly structural components in civil nuclear reactors. Oxidation and hydrogen pickup of the zirconium alloy cladding during operation have become limiting factors for the economical and safe operation of nuclear fuel. For this reason it is critical for the industry to understand the fundamental mechanisms involved, aiming to increase the operating margins to offset the ever increasing demands on fuel duty and aggressive in-reactor exposure conditions (temperature, burnup, residence time, cycle length, coolant chemistry, etc.).

A carefully selected set of irradiated samples from two alloys with different response to long-term in-reactor operation have been made available for study. These samples were fabricated from the same set of materials, exposed to the same irradiation conditions in the Vogtle Pressurized Water Reactor in the US and subsequently discharged after 1, 2, 3 or 4 cycles of irradiation.

The project will investigate key factors affecting the corrosion performance of Zr alloys in-reactor: The impact of alloy chemistry on in-reactor performance; The influence of hydrogen content on corrosion.

The PhD candidate will be based in Henry Royce institute for advanced materials at the University of Manchester. Working in a large and friendly research group where collaboration is strongly encouraged. Initially, the project will focus on characterising oxides formed by “out-of-pile” i.e. autoclave tests on non-active baseline materials. These will enable them to build their skill-set and produce baseline results. Advanced electron microscopy will be applied to complement lab-based and synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements.

The student will subsequently apply these skills to both proton irradiated and corroded samples and finally on the in-reactor formed oxides available. To study these samples the student will make use of the active material facilities at the Materials Research Facility at the UKAE, as well as the Nuclear Materials lab at the Henry Royce institute.

Throughout their project the student will interact with and be supported by colleagues as part of the EPSRC MIDAS (www.zr-midas.org ) programme grant to which the project is aligned and will be expected to present their work at international/national conferences or workshops and publish their work in international journals.

The duration of the PhD is 4 years and the start date is September 2024 (negotiable).

Please email Dr Philip Frankel before you apply: phillip.frankel@manchester.ac.uk

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