VULCAN at the SNS: Scientific Opportunities, Industrial Applications, and Challenges

Postworkshop Summary

The commissioning of the VULCAN diffractometer at the Spallation Neutron Source presents new and exciting opportunities to engineering diffraction and materials research communities. The idea for an engineering diffractometer at the SNS dates back to a workshop in late 1997, and the desired performance requirements were finalized exactly 10 years ago in a workshop held in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 20-21, 2000. The instrument was funded for construction in November 2003, with a grant from Canada Foundation for Innovation. In August of 2004, the US National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program provided additional funds, through The University of Tennessee, to support unique sample environments for VULCAN. In November 2005, the US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, funded additional detectors for VULCAN to multiplex the performance of the instrument. VULCAN received first neutrons on Friday June 26, 2009. Initial measurement results show that the neutron flux and instrument resolution are in agreement with Monte Carlo simulations.

The present workshop is intended to celebrate the remarkable journey of the VULCAN diffractometer. The commissioning results will be reported, followed by an open tour of the instrument and its unique load frame capable of multi-axial loading. Featured talks will highlight the state-of-the-art in engineering diffraction studies. There will be a poster session following a formal reception. Brain-storming sessions are planned to identify scientific opportunities, industrial applications, as well as the challenges with a new instrument like VULCAN. Speakers are solicited to discuss specific experiments that they really like to explore starting June of 2010. Each speaker is invited to submit, prior to the workshop, a 1-page write-up on the motivation, as well as the expected impact, scientific or technological, for the proposed experiment. The outcome of this workshop will be published in a position paper co-authored by all contributors.

Partial List of Confirmed Speakers

• Dr. Thomas E. Mason, Director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Dr. Ian S. Anderson, Associate Laboratory Director for Neutron Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Dr. Michelle V. Buchanan, Associate Laboratory Director for Physical Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Mr. Jac van Beek, Vice-president, Programs & Planning, Canada Foundation for Innovation
• Dr. Charles Bouldin, NSF Program Director of Instrumentation for Materials Research - Major Instrumentation Projects.
• Dr. David R. Clarke, Gordon McKay Professor of Materials, Harvard University
• Dr. Paul R. Dawson, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University
• Dr. Bruce D. Gaulin, Professor and Brockhouse Chair in the Physics of Materials, McMaster University, Canada
• Dr. Jerry Gibbs, Vehicle Technologies Program, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energies, US Department of Energy
• Dr. Thomas M. Holden, Northern Stress Technologies, Canada
• Dr. Richard A. Holt, Professor and NSERC Industrial Research Chair - Nuclear Materials, Queens University, Canada
• Dr. Liang Jiang, GE Global Research
• Dr. Fiona McNeill, Associate Vice President for Research and International Affairs, McMaster University, Canada
• Dr. Dean A. A. Myles, Director of Neutron Scattering Science Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Dr. Cev Noyan, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Columbia University
• Prof. Dr.-Ing. Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla, Scientific Director/Chief Executive, Helmholtz Center Berlin, Germany
• Dr. Ronald B. Rogge, Senior Research Officer, NRC Canadian Neutron Beam Centre, Canada
• Dr. Christopher A. Schuh, Danae and Vasilios Salapatas Associate Professor of Metallurgy, MIT
• Dr. Guebre Tessema, NSF Program Director of Instrumentation for Materials Research - National Facilities.
• Prof. Dr. Yo Tomota, Ibaraki University, Japan
• Dr. Thomas Ungar, Professor of Materials Physics, Eötvös University Budapest, Hungary
• Dr. Phillip Withers, Professor and Director of the Aerospace Research Institute, University of Manchester, United Kingdom
• Dr. Jihui Yang, Lab Group Manager, Electrochemistry Energy Research Lab, GM R&D Center