Reactor Materials
Our work in this area focuses on the performance and life of materials in the aggressive environments frequently encountered in next-generation technologies and applications in energy, construction, and transportation. Safe, sustained performance of materials is required under conditions of high stresses, fatigue, high temperatures, oxidation, corrosive environments, embrittling chemical species such as hydrogen, as well as radiation. Materials of interest in these applications include metals, ceramics, polymeric materials, composites, and specialized coatings and surface treatments. Specific areas of expertise include high-resolution microstructural examination to understand degradation mechanisms and behavior, radiation materials science, environment-induced materials degradation, and high-temperature structural materials. We also develop computer models as predictive tools for materials performance and degradation under a broad range of operating conditions.
To help companies build the next generation of nuclear power reactors (Generation IV),
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory scientists are studying the expected performance of structural steels during irradiation. Predictive equations provide insight into one of
the most important changes induced by radiation -- the change in volume arising from void swelling and the resulting brittleness at large swelling levels.