Control of thermal energy transport by interfacial and point defect engineering in nuclear materials

Grant funding 2023-2025

To reach a strong fundamental understanding of defect-boundary interaction promoting thermal energy transport recovery in interfacial nuclear materials under ion irradiation. The proposed study will employ micro- to nano-ion beam engineered point defects near grain boundaries with subsequent high-resolution advanced laser-based heat conduction microscopy and multi-scale modeling.

Spatially-controlled tailoring of radiation defects and microstructure is critical for the design of nuclear materials possesing superior radiation resistant and thermally conductive properties resulting in higher energy efficiency and safety of next generation nuclear power plants

Generate new fundamental knowledge on spatially-resolved phonon-mediated thermal transport in nuclear materials across grain boundaries and spatially- controlled ion beam induced radiation point defects. This will ultimately aid the rational design of new nuclear nanomaterials simultaneously possessing radiation tolerance and heat conductive recovering properties.