Safeguarding the next generation of nuclear reactors

The University of Huddersfield is to play an essential role in providing the nuclear power industry with scientific data it needs to ensure that future generations of reactors and radioactive waste storage solutions are safe and reliable.  It will also help to address the UK’s serious shortage of nuclear scientists and engineers. 

The University will use its unique Microscope and Ion Accelerator for Materials Investigations (MIAMI) – one of only two such facilities in Europe – to simulate the effects of radiation damage on materials using ion beams at the nanoscale level.

Professor Stephen Donnelly, Dean of the School of Computing and co-developer of MIAMI, is leading a project alongside Senior Research Fellow Dr Jonathan Hinks which has been awarded £889,839 by EPSRC to investigate damage caused by irradiation of materials that are used in the construction of nuclear reactors and for the long-term safe disposal of radio-active waste.

Dr Hinks, also a member of the team that developed MIAMI explained that the research team would use ion beams to irradiate thin samples of material. “The project is about producing a base line of experimental evidence. You have to have a very thin piece of material – typically 100 nanometres or less – otherwise the electrons won’t get through and you can’t see anything,”

Using electrons in the same way that a conventional microscope uses light, MIAMI enables researchers to see inside the ultra-thin samples of material and witness changes caused by irradiation, including the build up of gas bubbles.

The findings of the project will be relevant to the Generation III+ reactors soon to be constructed in the UK.  The materials for these have already been selected, said Dr Hinks, but regulatory authorities need constant updates on safety issues and the MIAMI data will enable engineers to predict how reactors will perform over time. 

The research will also make an important contribution to the choice of materials for the Generation IV reactors due to come on stream from the 2030s onwards.