(SATURN CDT) Developing high density fuel concepts for use in water reactors

About the Project

Saturn_Nuclear_CDT

UoM_Nuclear

The University of Manchester invites applications for a fully funded PhD position focused on developing novel nuclear fuel materials for use in existing and future reactors, which includes a £26k p.a. tax-free stipend.

This project will work on exciting new fuel materials invented at Manchester and with industrial partners to look to further understand their behaviour for use in commercial systems. The successful candidate will be based in the state-of-the-art fuel labs located in the Henry Royce Institute building, which includes over £20M of equipment dedicated to the study of nuclear fuel materials, including everything from electron microscopes with atomic-scale resolution to bulk-scale materials properties at very high temperatures.

The research will focus on the characterisation and understanding of boron-doped uranium nitride. UN is an attractive material for use in reactors as it has economic (uranium density) and physical (thermal conductivity) benefits compared to UO2 which is used currently. In effect this means it has the potential to be both cheaper and safer than current fuels, and could be used in both existing and future reactors. The main challenge with UN is that it reacts strongly with steam, which can contact the fuel if the cladding fails.

Research at Manchester has identified that the addition of boron compounds to UN significantly increases the temperature at which the steam reaction occurs. This project will conduct detailed characterisation studies on boron-doped UN fuel, in order to understand this increase and identify pathways by which it could be improved further. This will include utilising techniques such as electron microscopy (SEM, FIB-SEM and TEM), X-ray diffraction, Raman Spectroscopy etc to understand both the material at-manufacture, and how it evolves during contact with steam.

The successful candidate will join a thriving interdisciplinary research group, growing year on year and currently comprising ~40 full time students, researchers and academics across the full range of nuclear fuel manufacture and characterisation, reactor physics and fuel modelling areas.

The ideal candidate should possess:

• A strong problem-solving based approach.
• An interest in nuclear fuel materials and materials science.
• A background in a STEM subject at undergraduate level to a high standard, ideally with some research experience.
• Due to nature of the research, only British Nationals can be considered for this position.

Due to the requirements of the industrial sponsor for this project, applications can only be accepted from British Nationals.

About SATURN

This PhD is based with the SATURN Centre for Doctoral Training. SATURN is made up form a consortium of NW Universities that include Manchester, Bangor, Leeds, Liverpool, Lancaster, Sheffield and Strathclyde. The ethos of the programme is to recruit students from across STEM and give them the necessary skills and training to become a subject matter expert in the nuclear sector in either industry or academia. You will be recruited with a cohort of other researchers all looking at nuclear- focused research but from across the breadth of the sector. Your training will include an introduction to nuclear course, as well as opportunities to do a deep dive in the areas that really interest you. You will also have the opportunity to broaden your experience and skills by visiting internationally relevant facilities, having an industry secondment, undertaking leadership training, and involving yourself in outreach and public engagement activities. If this sounds like the sort of opportunity that you are looking for, we would love to hear from you.

Eligibility

Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2.1 honours degree or a master’s (or international equivalent) in a relevant science or engineering related discipline.

Before you apply

We strongly recommend that you contact the supervisor(s) for this project before you apply. For informal enquiries, please contact Joel Turner at joel.turner@manchester.ac.uk.

How to apply

Please complete the Enquiry Form to express your interest. We strongly recommend you contact the project supervisor after completing the form to speak to them about your suitability for the project.

If your qualifications meet our standard entry requirements, the CDT Admissions Team will send your enquiry form and CV to the named project supervisor.

Our application process can also be found on our website: here If you have any questions, please contact SATURN@manchester.ac.uk