Composite materials with enhanced properties to survive in harsh environments (such as neutron/proton irradiation and elevated temperatures) are key for nuclear fission reactors and aircraft engines, now and in the future. Materials of interest to EMAM include:
⦁ Carbon/graphite;
⦁ SiC;
⦁ Oxide;
⦁ TRISO fuel particles/seals;
⦁ New materials for nuclear fuel cladding;
⦁ MAX phases.
Unique and advanced methods have been developed to study these materials at multiple scales. The goal is to correlate the nano/microstructure of material processing with macroscale damage and fracture under in-service conditions.
EMAM has established strong collaborative links with key national and international players in the nuclear fission, nuclear fusion and aerospace industries. The goal is to use scientific approaches to gain a mechanistic understanding of the failure modes in these materials. As a result, their industrial applications are supported.
There are active ongoing projects in the following areas with open opportunities for doctoral and postdoctoral students.
- Mechanistic understanding of damage and fracture of ceramic-matrix composites under extreme conditions: Working with many industries and processing groups, this area studies a range of aerospace and nuclear fission/synthesis CMUs in terms of their local mechanical and thermal properties, residual stresses, deformation and fracture, including crack initiation and propagation from ambient temperatures to above 1000°C by in situ imaging and diffraction techniques;
- Damage and Fracture of Nuclear-Graphite Composites at Multiple Length Scales: This topic studies a wide range of polycrystalline graphite materials, from highly oriented pyrolytic graphite to fine/medium/coarse graphite composite, unirradiated or irradiated with ions, neutrons or protons, to understand their multiple length-scale structure, physical properties before and after irradiation, at ambient temperatures and up to 1100°C;
- Thermal and Mechanical Characterization of TRISO Fuels: This program investigates a range of tristructural isotropic nuclear fuel (TRISO) particles, either free-standing or embedded in a SiC or graphite matrix, in terms of their local properties, residual stresses, and high-temperature mechanical properties that vary with processing parameters;
- Interfacial strength of heterogeneously integrated ceramic films. A number of micromechanical test methods have been developed to evaluate the interfacial toughness of thin ceramic films (e.g., GaN) integrated onto rigid substrates, including SiC, Si, and mono/polycrystalline diamond. to enable the development of new semiconductor materials for high-power radio frequency (RF) devices.