Challenges: Nuclear and other advanced energy systems require materials that can sustain large cyclic loads at high temperatures and intense neutron radiation fields for extended periods of time. Material aging and degradation in these extreme environments present major challenges to the development of such systems.
Strategy:The development of advanced energy systems requires accurate performance prediction and life assesment for materials and structures. These goals are being pursued at UCSB through an integrated program of experimental studies and physically-based multi-scale material modeling. The focus is on the links between non-equilibrium microstructural evolutions and fundamental mechanisms of deformation and fracture that control a host of engineering properties. A corollary objective is to develop advanced materials to meet the increasingly stringent requirements faced by advanced energy systems. The program involves a network of national and international university and research laboratory collaborators.
