Welcome to the materials group led by Willett Professor, Dr. James Stubbins
One of the biggest chanllenges facing the development of advanced nuclear reactors is the materials issue. In the extreme environment of advanced reactors, materials degradation accelerates by the combination of high temperature, stress, corrosion, etc.
Our mission is to advance the understanding of such degradation processes under extreme environment using state-of-the-art experimental techniques with associated modeling. The experiments range from nanoscale microstructure characterization to understand atomic arrangements and interactions, to macroscale studies on the mechanical response under tensile loading, creep, and creep-fatigue conditions to understand the macroscopic properties. We also push the boundary of our knowledge in structural materials using state-of-the-art in situ tests, from which we can extract both microstructure and macroscale properties at the same time.