The project outputs will be:
Impact will include:
- A demonstrator case study of the Magnox ex-surveillance samples provided by UKAEA to provide support/justification for adoption of the method by the nuclear industry.
The PhD will test plate steel and forged steel samples that were periodically extracted from the UK Magnox reactors and tested as part of a surveillance programme for structural health monitoring. The case study results will be compared with the traditional testing results (tensile or Charpy results held by the National Nuclear Laboratory, NNL). AMEC Nuclear UK and EDF Energy have already expressed strong interest in the use of nano-indentation as an NDT technique for improved structure health monitoring of nuclear reactors.
- Dissemination of the new test methods through existing project partnerships and UKAEA networks to relevant nuclear industry sectors, national nuclear laboratories and other research groups.
- Input to ISO TC164/SC3 for the next revision of ISO/TR 29381 and for developing new international standards applicable to safety checks of material components in many other industrial sections, such as coatings (manufacturing); structural health of pipes (Oil and Gas) and vessels and structures (marine/ transportation)
- Adoption of test methods into research into non-destructive testing techniques by UKAEA and The Welding Institute (TWI).
- New research: NNL also have a keen interest in the Magnox ex-surveillance materials, where further characterisation use advanced techniques would provide useful insights into what was achieved during the surveillance programme.
Rohit obtained his MTech from the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Srinagar, where he was the gold medallist, in 2018.
Rohit's research interests include Material characterization, High temperature material failure (structural integrity), Fracture and fatigue analysis, Finite element analysis, Computational fluid dynamics and Tribology.
Prof Nigel Jennett has a PhD on nano-multilayers from U. Bristol and previously worked for 23y at the UK National Physical Laboratory leading the surfaces, coatings and nano-mechanics research theme. Nigel has over 25 years' experience of coating fabrication, materials characterisation and developing nano-mechanical test methods. Research determining the relationship between measurement length-scale and material properties led to the concepts of combined-length-scale-determined strength and “length-scale engineering.” Inter alia, Nigel chairs the British Standards Institute indentation committee, leads the UK delegation to ISO TC164/SC3 and co-authored the standards for nano-indentation-based test methods. Nigel is an experienced leader of projects (Government, EU and Industry).
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) Chris has a BSc in Design Engineering and a DPhil from the University of Oxford, focused on radiation damage of crystalline materials and micro-characterisation techniques. He has extensive experience in the simulation of radiation damage by heavy ion implantation, the effects of neutron radiation and micro-mechanical testing methods. He works as a scientist developing the Materials Research Facility. Current research projects include H2020 EMPIR project Strength-ABLE, management of UKAEA’s experimental programme on irradiated materials and participation in EU FP7 programme AMAZE.
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