Quick, accurate location and measurement of potential failure points in materials is the focus of a second-generation neutron residual stress mapping instrument jointly developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee. The project, headed by Cam Hubbard of ORNL's Metals and Ceramics Division, uses high-flux neutron beams from the lab's High Flux Isotope Reactor to measure residual stress and create a three-dimensional map pinpointing high stress locations of likely materials failure. The instrument also can study the grains in a material and how they react when going through a deformation process, helping to improve the manufacturing process of engines, nuclear reactors, large steel machinery and equipment operated in heat recovery systems. It is applicable to a wide range of materials, including iron, aluminum, titanium, magnesium and various metal matrix composites. The ORNL system recently has been used to strengthen concrete and to understand powder compaction. DOE's Office of FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies is funding the research.
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