Senior R&D - Cladding and Core Internal Component Testing

Position: Senior R&D Staff - Cladding and Core Internal Component Testing
Requisition  Overview:  Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest US Department of Energy science and energy laboratory, conducting basic and applied research to deliver transformative solutions to compelling problems in energy and security.

We are seeking a Senior R&D Staff member who will lead experimental research on the mechanical behavior, failure modes, and thermophysical property evolution of nuclear fuel cladding and core materials under reactor operating conditions that span normal operation, anticipated operational occurrences, and design-basis accidents. The research will emphasize zirconium alloys and their hydrides as well as accident-tolerant fuel cladding candidates, and ceramic fuel matrix and/or composite materials for space reactor applications.  

This position resides in the Fuel Cladding and Core Internals (FCCI) Group in the Fuel Cycle Science and Technology Division, Fusion and Fission Energy and Science Directorate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).  The FCCI Group focuses on advancing the future of nuclear energy by accelerating how the U.S. develops, tests, and qualifies fuels and materials for currently operating and next-generation reactors.

As part of our research team, you will develop and apply mechanical testing methods to quantify deformation, damage progression, and failure modes for a wide range of reactor systems. Research may include transient and high-temperature testing, including techniques that simulate fuel behavior during accident conditions. The successful candidate will test both unirradiated and irradiated materials and work closely with capabilities and expertise available in ORNL’s hot cell and radiological facilities such as the Low Activation Materials Development and Analysis Laboratory (LAMDA).

The selected individual will collaborate with staff across the FCCI Group, the Fuel Cycle Science and Technology Division, the Materials Science and Technology Division, and others to advance experimental capabilities and create new research directions. Importantly, they will also engage with industry partners to advance their fuel/material technologies, identify targeted data needs, and develop test plans to deliver on those needs.

Metrics for success will include high-quality scientific output, development of reliable experimental methods and datasets, publication in peer-reviewed journals, presentation of results at national and international technical meetings, and timely delivery of programmatic milestones.

Major Duties/Responsibilities:  Lead R&D programs and/or programmatic activities on nuclear fuel cladding and core materials, including zirconium alloys and their hydrides and accident-tolerant fuel cladding candidates.

Develop and apply transient testing techniques to simulate anticipated operational occurrences and/or reactivity-initiated-accidents in reactor systems.

Evaluate the effects of hydrogen uptake, transport, precipitation, and hydride morphology on the deformation and failure of zirconium-alloy cladding and potential space nuclear reactor fuel materials.

Use digital image correlation, data-acquisition systems, and complementary instrumentation to measure in situ strain, temperature, pressure, and failure during mechanical testing, conventional burst testing, or modified burst testing.

Perform work in radiological laboratories and coordinate with hot-cell staff to obtain and interpret post-irradiation examination and mechanical-property data.

Analyze experimental data, document methods and uncertainty, develop new research concepts, publish results in peer-reviewed journals, and present findings at technical meetings.

Collaborate in multidisciplinary teams of experimentalists, computational scientists, and engineers while…