Charlie Edwards

I graduated from The University of Manchester with a master’s degree in materials science and engineering. During my studies I realised that I wanted to make a difference in the world, and that helping to make large-scale nuclear fusion a reality would be one of the best ways to do so.

The two main fuels that nuclear fusion uses to produce energy are two isotopes of hydrogen: deuterium and tritium. Tritium is highly radioactive, so effectively maintaining tritium inventory will be key to the safe operation of any future nuclear fusion power plant. Hydrogen and its isotopes readily diffuse through many structural materials such as steel, so barrier coatings are required to inhibit this. However, little is currently known about the behaviour of tritium in the barrier coatings themselves and larger coating systems. Therefore, my project seeks to investigate these behaviours and determine the optimum hydrogen barriers for fusion powerplant applications.

Various candidate materials will be exposed to deuterium, followed by an extensive characterisation process to determine the hydrogen trapping and permeation behaviours associated with each material. This characterisation will involve the use of thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) and ion beam analysis, as well as additional microstructure characterisation techniques. The collected experimental data will inform and validate hydrogen isotope trapping and permeation modelling, enabling prediction of tritium inventory over time.

Supervisors

• Prof Philip Edmondson
• Dr Beatriz Mingo