The Short Lab designs materials, methods, and modifications to realize large-scale energy generation unchained from problems of material performance, by reinventing our understanding and measurement techniques of nuclear materials degradation
We focus on three main areas of research:
| Fouling and adhesion in energy systems | Mesoscale quantification of radiation damage | Corrosion in ridiculously extreme environments |
|---|---|---|
| We are unraveling the fundamental nature of adhesion in systems where polymeric coatings cannot be used, due to an extreme environment of high temperature, high pressure, and corrosive fluids. | We (among others) have concluded that the DPA (displacements per atom), the fundamental unit of radiation damage, is not a measurable quantity. We are designing new, non-destructive methods of quantifying radiation damage, in pursuit of developing a measurable, repeatable unit of radiation damage accumulation. | The words "extreme environment" are thrown around too often nowadays, we stick to understanding mechanisms of and developing materials that resist corrosion in places you'd never want to be. Examples include steels 700C molten lead, multimetal composites 1100C helium or tritium-bearing 700C molten salt, H2S-riddled equipment for oil refineries, and less than a millimeter from nuclear fuel pellets in light water reactors. |
CRUD platelets grown on the surface of single crystal sapphire, showing platelet knock-down around former bubble peripheries |  Optical table setup for surface acoustic wave measurements, under construction! |
Weld overlaying corrosion-resistant Fe-12Cr-2Si on a 500lb. billet of structural alloy T91, for service in high-temperature molten lead-bismuth cooled reactors |
Come see more about who we are, and what we do at:
http://web.mit.edu/shortlab/
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