Accident tolerant fuel systems are being developed to improve the safety and longevity of nuclear reactors. One promising option is a chromium-based coating applied to the fuel cladding, which can limit oxidation during a loss‑of‑coolant accident and extend the useful lifetime of the fuel.
We are looking for applicants eager to push this concept forward through materials design and development of new layered alloy systems for nuclear power. The successful candidate will apply state‑of‑the‑art computational approaches, combining atomistic (density functional theory) simulations with CALPHAD phase diagram modelling to accelerate materials design and application.
In this project, you will design high‑performance materials from layered fuel systems and tackle real knowledge gaps in the composition‑dependent properties of chromium alloy (Cr‑X) and chromium‑niobium alloy (Cr‑Nb‑X) systems.
Phase diagrams are a powerful and elegant way...