Abigail Lander

Part II Student

Department of Materials
University of Oxford
Parks Road
Oxford OX1 3PH
UK

Email: partII.student@materials.ox.ac.uk

Project Description

Vanadium alloys have been identified as potential candidate materials for structural components in compact nuclear fusion power plant such as the UK STEP device currently under design. This is because they may offer operational temperatures above those of creep resistant ferritic martensitic steels which struggle to operate above 620ºC for long durations. However, there is a severe lack of data on the vanadium alloy systems being proposed for use in these safety critical applications. Vanadium- chromium-titanium is the most studied system, but In total no more than 150 kgs of material has ever been produced, almost all of it of a very similar composition. There is no consensus on the basic strengthening mechanisms or the optimum microstructure for creep resistance. This project will develop thermomechanical processing routes for vanadium-based alloys. The V-Cr-Ti system will be used as the starting point with alloys of various composition, cast, mechanically worked and heat treated. Optical, XRD and SEM based methods will be used to study the microstructural evolution, and micro/nano hardness testing to study mechanical properties. If time allows, further strengthening mechanisms such as oxide or silicide dispersions may be explored.