Congratulations to Nathan Reid, RSSEL’s graduate student, who was one of four students to receive best paper award at the 2020 ANS TOFE Student Paper Competition for the paper “Design and analysis of an advanced three-point bend test approach for miniature irradiated disk specimens”.
High flux test reactors, such as the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, are used to extrapolate the understanding of radiation damage and property change to fusion neutron irradiation. Current fission reactor-based irradiation data and future fusion neutron testbeds such as the Fusion Prototypic Neutron Source (FPNS) will require low-volume specimens to be mechanically tested under a multitude of material microstructures, alloys, composites, and irradiation conditions. Nathan’s design for a three-point bend test approach and fixture allows for analysis of irradiated microscopy disk specimens (3 mm in diameter) under conditions of flexural stress states in a bulk material or composite. This test will allow us to record and analyze fracture from non-uniform stress conditions that lead to failure in fusion candidate materials and develop an understanding of laminate composite bond properties of dissimilar metals.”
