NSUF 26-5689: Radiation Tolerance and Microstructural Evolution in Solid-State-Processed High-Entropy Alloys
Structural materials for new-generation nuclear reactor designs must withstand hundreds of displacements per atom (dpa) of irradiation damage, potentially at extreme temperatures and oxidizing environments. Under such extreme conditions, the presence of any primary or secondary processing-induced defects in the material may significantly compromise the damage tolerance of the material. The novelty of solid state processing methods such as Friction stir layer deposition (FSLD) and Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE) lies in the ability to fabricate large-scale components with nearly defect-free dense microstructures. Being a solid-state processes, these methods prevent the formation of melting and solidification-related defects such as hot cracking, porosity, segregation, etc. with the additional benefit of the ability to produce refined microstructures. The high density of grain boundaries arising from refined microstructures is also proven to enhance the sink strength of the materials. Therefore, the goal of this project is to understand irradiation behavior of nuclear materials fabricated by solid state processing. Cu-precipitate-strengthened FCC HEA (CoCrFeNiCu0.12) is a recently developed alloy, and its conventionally cast component is reported to have excellent irradiation swelling resistance up to 500 dpa. Therefore, this alloy fabricated by solid state processing is chosen for this investigation to advance the development of advanced reactor concepts whose design objective is to increase nuclear fuel efficiency safely. This project will be completed in 9 months period.
Additional Info
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Awarded Institution | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory |
| DOI | 10.46936/NSUF/60017650 |
| Embargo End Date | 2028-04-22 |
| Facility Tech Lead | Lin Shao, Stuart Maloy |
| Irradiation Facilities | Accelerator Laboratory |
| NSUF Call | FY 2026 RTE 1st Call |
| PI | Subhashish Meher |
| PI Email | subhashish.meher@pnnl.gov |
| PIE Facilities | Radiochemical Processing Laboratory |
| Prep Facilities | Materials Science and Technology Laboratory |
| Project Member | Dr. Isabella van Rooyen, Senior Technical Advisor Advanced Material Systems - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8524-938X) |
| Project Member | Dr. Subhashish Meher, Materials Scientist - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1599-4346) |
| Project Type | RTE |