Photon Science Seminar: Dr. Peter Hosemann, University of California Berkeley, "From materials selection to deployment and degradation in nuclear applications"

Abstract 
Nuclear systems present some of the most extreme environments for structural materials, characterized by the  simultaneous presence of radiation, high temperatures, corrosive conditions, mechanical stress, and prolonged service lifetimes. This combination leads to complex degradation mechanisms and material behavior not  encountered in conventional applications, posing significant challenges for material selection and design.  In this work, we outline a framework for designing and selecting materials suitable for nuclear environments, highlighting the potential of advanced additive manufacturing (AM) and synthesis techniques to meet these  demands. In particular, we explore the use of compositionally and structurally graded materials enabled by AM to tailor properties across components and mitigate damage accumulation.  Understanding material performance under irradiation is essential. We employ a suite of small-scale mechanical testing methods—including microcompression, multiscale tensile testing, and nanoindentation—to investigate how radiation-induced defects influence mechanical behavior. These techniques provide valuable insights into the evolution of strength, ductility, and deformation mechanisms post-irradiation.  Environmental degradation, particularly oxidation under radiation, is another critical factor. To address this, we demonstrate a rapid-throughput experimental approach for assessing oxidation behavior in irradiated materials, offering a scalable pathway to evaluate environmental stability under realistic reactor conditions.

Bio
Peter Hosemann is professor in the Department for Nuclear Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Material Science and Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley and director of Manufacturing 360 research center and the  associated shared user facility. Professor Hosemann received his Ph.D in Material Science from the Montanuniversität Leoben, Austria in 2008 while he conducted the research on lead bismuth eutectic corrosion, ion beam irradiations and microscale mechanical testing was carried out at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Professor Hosemann has authored more than 300 peer reviewed publications since 2008. In 2014 he won the best reviewer of the journal of nuclear materials award, the ANS literature award and in 2015 he won the TMS early career faculty fellow award and the AIME Robert Lansing Hardy award, was awarded the E. S. Kuh Chair of the college of Engineering at UCB and won the TMS-Brimacombe medal 2022. Professor Hosemann is also deputy and associate editor for J. Applied Physics