About Us:
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:
Irradiation of zirconium-based alloys within light water reactors induces microstructural changes that can adversely impact cladding performance, primarily through irradiation hardening and dimensional instabilities. To reduce the severity of these issues, alloying elements are added to the zirconium. This project primarily focuses on assessing the irradiation performance of a novel alloy (Alloy A) developed by Westinghouse Sweden as a potential candidate for next-generation fuel rod cladding (AXIOM). This class of zirconium alloys aims to offer enhanced corrosion resistance and hydrogen performance while maintaining superior dimensional stability during irradiation. Alloy A has a chemical composition of Zr-0.3Nb-0.5Sn-0.35Fe-0.25Cr, which significantly differs from traditional zirconium-based cladding materials such as ZIRLO (Zr-1Sn-1Nb-0.1Fe) and Zircaloy-4 (Zr-1.3Sn-0.2Fe-0.1Cr). Preliminary studies on the irradiation-induced growth behaviour of Alloy A have shown promising results, whereby it has outperformed conventional alloys. However, a mechanistic understanding of the factors behind this performance remains limited and is essential for fully realising the potential benefits of Alloy A.
The primary research questions that will be addressed are:
1) How do the additional alloying elements added to Alloy A influence its microstructure and hence irradiation behaviour.
2) What is the chemical composition of the secondary phase particles formed in Alloy A and how does their stability change with irradiation?
3) What are the key microstructure and chemical differences between neutron irradiated Alloy A and more conventional Zr alloys that result in the observed differences in irradiation-induced growth behaviour.
Some key characterisation techniques that will be used are SEM, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Atom probe tomography (APT) and X-ray diffraction (XRD).
Expectations and Rewards:
During your PhD you will be expected to:
- Work with and support the MIDAS and Zr group research group (https://www.zr-midas.org)
- Work hard and not be afraid to learn new things.
- Have a sound work ethic allowing you to manage your project with a degree of independence.
- Attend and present at local and international conferences.
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.
- 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, industry and national labs locally and internationally.
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. Please include details of your current level of study, academic background and any relevant experience and include a paragraph about your motivation to study this PhD project.
How to apply
Apply online through our website: https://uom.link/pgr-apply-2425
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.
Your application will not be processed without all of the required documents submitted at the time of application, and we cannot accept responsibility for late or missed deadlines. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
After you have applied you will be asked to upload the following supporting documents:
- Final Transcript and certificates of all awarded university level qualifications
- Interim Transcript of any university level qualifications in progress
- CV
- Supporting statement: A one or two page statement outlining your motivation to pursue postgraduate research and why you want to undertake postgraduate research at Manchester, any relevant research or work experience, the key findings of your previous research experience, and techniques and skills you’ve developed. (This is mandatory for all applicants and the application will be put on hold without it).
- Contact details for two referees (please make sure that the contact email you provide is an official university/work email address as we may need to verify the reference)
- English Language certificate (if applicable)
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.
We also support applications from those returning from a career break or other roles. We consider offering flexible study arrangements (including part-time: 50%, 60% or 80%, depending on the project/funder).
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