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General Information
Nuclear Science & Technology Department
Advanced Materials for Energy Systems
The Advanced Materials Group’s mission is to conduct research on materials in extreme environments for advanced energy systems. As part of that mission, the group utilizes synchrotron characterization techniques such as diffraction, spectroscopy, and imaging and is developing sample chambers for the in situ study of materials at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS). The 200 MeV proton beam of the BNL Linac and the target facility of the Brookhaven Linear Isotope Producer (BLIP) is being extensively used for irradiation damage studies on materials for fast !ssion and fusion reactors as well as high particle accelerator elements such as pion production targets for neutrino experiments. The irradiation facility is augmented with post-irradiation hot labs where analysis and quantification of irradiation damage effects are performed. The group provides expertise to the nuclear energy community in materials fabrication, testing, and performance degradation due to aging and harsh service conditions. Advanced numerical simulations of materials during shock, blast, impact and explosions are performed with finite element methods. Modeling of dislocations is also used to predict radiation effects and subsequent changes in experimental characterization data.
Current Work
The group is currently working on diverse materials science research for advanced energy systems including radiation effects in structural materials for nuclear reactors, new nanomaterials to extend the life and burnup of light water reactor nuclear fuels, proton radiography, carbonation of minerals for Enhanced Geothermal Energy Systems, increasing the reliability of batteries as emergency systems for nuclear plants and improved performance of accelerator target materials. Spallation fast neutron "uxes generated by the isotope production targets at BLIP are used for irradiation of new alloys, composites and !rst blanket materials proposed for fusion reactors. Proton-induced irradiation damage (up to 200 MeV) of high-power accelerator elements such as pion production targets for the Neutrino Factory and Long Baseline Neutrino Experiment, beam collimating elements for the Large Hadron Collider and target materials for rare isotope beam accelerators is currently under study along with the degradation of detectors and crystals under neutron and proton irradiation.
Facility to Study Radiation Effects
A new facility at the NSLS-II with a beamline for the real time and in-situ studies of Materials in a Radiation Environment, to study radioactive materials and radiation effects is proposed. The beamline will consist of two endstations. One endstation will focus on in-situ and time resolved imaging/ diffraction studies of radiation processes by combining NSLS-II capabilities with ion beam accelerators and ultrafast detectors. Another endstation will examine structural damage in previously irradiated materials using x-ray diffraction, tomography and absorption techniques.
Group members at beamline X14A at the National Synchrotron Light Source.