Vision
Develop next generation materials for nuclear energy and understand material behaviors in fusion and fission nuclear environments.
Mission
Understands the role of damage modes on the properties, structure and failure of structural and functional materials and components for light water reactors, advanced fusion reactors of importance to DOE, DOD, and other sponsors.
R&D Scope
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has a long history of materials development for applications in extreme conditions including nuclear reactors as a means of clean energy. The Advanced Nuclear Materials (ANM) Group is capable of offering technical expertise and capabilities in the development of novel materials and processes that support the development, demonstration, and deployment of novel and mature materials for clean energy and decarbonization missions including advanced reactors. The ANM team provides the following key capabilities: 1) material development; 2) advanced manufacturing and process assessment; 3) microanalysis and characterization; and 4) materials mechanical and thermal property testing.
Core Competencies
- Testing and processing capabilities hosted in 6 hot cells in a category III nuclear facility
- Test irradiated materials and to understand/predict material property changes
- Enabled mechanical property testing, including cutting, milling, welding, pressure testing, tensile testing, hardness, Charpy impact, rabbit disassembly, between – 196 ° C and 1000 °C
- Advanced manufacturing of novel materials (i.e., alloys, high entropy, ceramics) as structural and functional materials for nuclear reactors
- Microanalysis and imaging of material microstructures either simulating extreme reactor conditions or using post irradiation examination
- Physics-based modeling for nuclear safety and security
