Collaborative Research: Atomistic Mechanisms of Stabilizing Oxide Nanoparticles in Oxide-dispersion Strengthened Structural Materials

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY

Investigators

Abstract

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: The survival of materials under conditions of high temperature and radiation is crucial to their application in nuclear energy, space, and other applications under extreme conditions. Metal alloys can be strengthened by the dispersion of small (nanoscale) oxide particles. Yttrium titanium oxide nanoparticles greatly enhance the thermo-mechanical and radiation-resistant properties of such oxide-dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloys. It is scientifically challenging but technologically necessary to understand the exceptionally-high stability of these nanoparticles under extreme environments in order to develop advanced structural materials with enhanced performance. By synergy of experimental efforts and multi-scale computer simulations, the researchers at RPI and UC Davis will advance the understanding and control of transformation and structural evolution of such nanoparticles. This research program will train both graduate and undergraduate students working in key fields of radiation effects and the development of advanced structural materials. Special efforts will be made to involve underrepresented students, particularly woman engineers, into science and engineering through various programs at RPI and UC Davis. The fundamental understanding will contribute to the development of a dual-level course of ?radiation effects and nuclear reactor materials? at RPI. Findings of this project will be disseminated to a wider audience through national and international conference presentations. TECHNICAL DETAILS Building on a synergy of experiments and atomistic simulations, the groups at RPI and UC Davis will target a scientific understanding of the phase stability of dispersed oxide nanoparticles under high temperature and intense radiation conditions. Y-Ti-O nanoparticles (e.g., Y2Ti2O7 and Y2TiO5) will be synthesized and exposed to different irradiation conditions using intense ion beams and to different temperatures, and the morphology and microstructure will be characterized thoroughly by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. Calorimetric measurements will investigate the thermodynamic stability of Y-Ti-O nanoparticles as a function of size, irradiation, and temperature. Atomistic computer simulations, including first principles calculations, classical molecular dynamics and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations, will probe synergistic effects of radiation and temperature on the structural evolution of oxide nanoparticles and their defect behavior. This fundamental understanding will reveal the underlying physics and chemistry that govern phase stability and defect behavior of Y-Ti-O nanoparticles and establish the basis for developing predictive models of how nanostructured materials behave under extreme conditions of intense radiation and high temperature. Based on such fundamental understanding, new science will evolve to design strategy in materials processing for strengthening of alloys by oxide nanoparticles.