Shaswathan Sanjeevvijay

I completed my MPhys undergraduate physics degree at the University of Leicester in 2025. It was during this time that I had gained a passion for fusion research and realised its importance. Considering both my 3rd and 4th year projects were simulations based, one of which was materials oriented, I realised my strongest contribution would be doing simulations in material research. Because of this, I chose the PhD topic “Understanding micro-breeder performance via multiscale modelling of tritium with interfaces in vanadium alloys”, at the University of Sheffield with Professor Christopher Race.

Vanadium alloys became recognised as candidate materials for fusion after the call for lower activation fusion materials in the mid-1980s.  More specifically, one design for the tritium breeder in a fusion reactor exploits liquid lithium contained in a vanadium alloy component. To predict the performance of such a breeder system, both interatomic forces at smaller scales and tritium accumulation in the alloy over longer length and timescales need to be studied. This is why a multiscale modelling approach will be taken using both classical molecular dynamics simulations and phase field models to simulate tritium uptake in the breeder system. The results from this research will be used to inform future breeder design models and the overall viability of vanadium alloys in fusion projects.

Supervisors

• Prof. Christopher Race