The Fundamentals of Radiation Effects (FRE) Group, residing within Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Materials Science & Technology Division (MSTD), performs fundamental and applied research across irradiated materials science and engineering, helping to develop and understand further how radiation impacts materials’ structure and property, and their correlation. This is achieved through reduced length-scale characterization of irradiated materials, with the development and implementation of new analysis techniques to better characterize the effects of radiation on material properties. Through these advanced characterization and analysis techniques, predictive models that describe the degradation of materials as a function of irradiation conditions such as time, temperature, and irradiation dose are developed. The group currently consists of 7 staff members and 5 post-doctoral researchers, along with technicians, interns, and students; the research performed by the group plays a vital role in the lifetime extension of the current light-water reactor fleet, the development of new materials for deployment in next advanced fission and fusion power reactors, and more broadly in the fundamental understanding of radiation effects in materials and how they can be mitigated.
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