Understanding the influence of the composition and microstructure of Cr based PVD coatings on the performance of coated claddings

The Zr group is a large welcoming team of researchers that focus on tackling industrially significant issues with regards to nuclear power. We are based in the Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials at the University of Manchester and collaborate with academic and industrial partners both in the UK and globally. Your PhD project is supported by Westinghouse Sweden, a global leader in the development and production of materials for nuclear reactors and will focus on trying to better understand irradiation behaviour of Zirconium alloys. Both the Zr group and Westinghouse are part of MIDAS, a consortium of UK based researchers focused on developing a mechanistic understanding of irradiation damage in nuclear fuel assemblies. During your PhD you will work within MIDAS to help ensure that the future of the UK’s nuclear industry is underpinned by safety, efficiency and sustainability. The project will include industrial supervision as well as travel to attend conferences and meetings both within the UK and globally.

About your Project

Following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, resulting tsunami, and subsequent damage to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant complex, enhancing the accident tolerance of nuclear reactors became a topic of serious discussion. The safety of the nuclear power reactors has always been a top priority for operators and continual improvement of technology, including advanced materials and nuclear fuels, remains central to the industry’s success. Decades of research combined with continual operation have produced steady advancements in technology and have yielded an extensive base of data, experience, and knowledge on the performance of the components of nuclear reactors under both normal and accident conditions. Modern light water reactors have excellent safety where the UO2-Zr system meets all the performance and safety requirements. The industry however strives to develop alternative fuel systems that further enhance both the safety and efficiency of operation, which has led to the development of accident tolerant fuels (ATFs). Adding a chromium-based coating to Zr through physical vapour deposition (PVD) has been shown to be a promising ATF contender. It has been highlighted that the quality of the chromium coating is strongly dependent on the deposition parameters and coating design employed. Your project will aim to investigate the influence of these parameters on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and irradiation performance of chromium-based coated claddings, paving the way for them to become accepted as a feasible ATF alternative. The two key questions that you will aim to answer during your PhD are: 

1) What influence does varying the deposition parameters and alloy design have on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the chromium-based coatings at room and elevated temperatures? 

2) How do different chromium-based coatings behave under proton irradiation and what are the key changes in microstructure, mechanical properties and high temperature behaviour of the claddings? 

As part of this project, you will be based in state-of-the-art nuclear laboratories within the Henry Royce Institute utilising advanced materials characterisation techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to study the radiation damage defects down to the nanoscale. The project has the rare opportunity to use the University of Manchester’s Dalton

Cumbria Facility to perform ion beam irradiations as a model for neutron radiation damage to elucidate key damage processes. 

More information on these facilities can be found;

Henry Royce Institute Nuclear Facilities ( https://www.royce.ac.uk/technology-platforms/fuels-and-irradiated-materials)

Dalton Cumbria Facility University of Manchester (https://www.dalton.manchester.ac.uk/research/facilities/cumbria-facilities/)

You will be expected to:

- Work with and support the MIDAS and Zr group research group (https://www.zr-midas.org)

- Have a sound work ethic allowing you to manage your project with an independence.

- Provide regular updates and technical outcomes to Westinghouse

- Attend and present at both local and international conferences.

- Partake in graduate teaching, supervision or training of Masters students

There will be many rewards:

- Working as part of a large and experienced team means that you will always have someone to help.

- Flexible and hybrid working is supported and encouraged.

- Receipt of a competitive, tax-free stipend.

- Numerous opportunities for local and international collaboration and travel.

- Opportunities to develop a range of non-technical skills (presentation, organisation, leadership) through training, mentoring and a broad range of both university and externally run competitions and workshops.

- The Zr group has a 100 % employability rate, with all graduates taking on technical and managerial roles at universities, industrial companies, national laboratories and experimental facilities both locally and internationally.

During the course of your PhD there are few expectations as well as many rewards.

Eligibility

Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2.1 honours degree or a master’s (or international equivalent) in a relevant science or engineering related discipline.

Before you apply

We strongly recommend that you contact the supervisors for this project before you apply.

How to apply

Apply online through our website: https://uom.link/pgr-apply-fap

When applying, you’ll need to specify the full name of this project, the name of your supervisor, if you already having funding or if you wish to be considered for available funding through the university, details of your previous study, and names and contact details of two referees and a supporting statement.

If you have any questions about making an application, please contact our admissions team by emailing FSE.doctoralacademy.admissions@manchester.ac.uk.

Equality, diversity and inclusion is fundamental to the success of The University of Manchester, and is at the heart of all of our activities. We know that diversity strengthens our research community, leading to enhanced research creativity, productivity and quality, and societal and economic impact.

We actively encourage applicants from diverse career paths and backgrounds and from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation and transgender status.