Vision
Develop next-generation materials for nuclear energy and understand material behaviors in fusion and fission nuclear environments.
Mission
Understand the role of damage modes on the properties, structure, and failure of structural and functional materials and components for light water reactors and advanced fusion reactors of importance to DOE, DOD, and other sponsors.
R&D Scope
Oak Ridge National Laboratory has a long history of materials development for applications in extreme conditions including nuclear reactors as a means of energy generation. 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 energy missions, including advanced reactors. The ANM team provides key capabilities in material development, advanced manufacturing and process assessment, microanalysis and characterization, and materials mechanical and thermal property testing.
Core Competencies
- Testing and processing capabilities hosted in six hot cells in a category III nuclear facility
- Testing irradiated materials 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