Introduction to Materials - Term 1, University of York (taught by University of Oxford)
This course will give those without a background in materials science a basic introduction to the subject. Materials are becoming increasingly important in fusion as we move to the more demanding environments of next step fusion devices, including ITER. Understanding the structure of materials and their properties is important for designing future fusion devices, whether they are based on magnetic or inertial fusion concepts. Materials need to withstand hostile environments, such as high heat loads associated with the plasma exhaust or high neutron fluxes. The knowledge of basic material properties that this course provides will establish the foundations for understanding how fusion reactor components perform in such harsh environments.
This module is taken by all Fusion CDT students.
Fusion Laboratory: Computational - Terms 1 & 2, University of York
Plasmas and materials are such complex systems that their dynamics are often not analytically tractable, and in these cases, computers are used to simulate their behaviour. The course will provide an introduction to computer simulation techniques. Students will learn about both continuum (fluid) and discrete (particle) techniques, and identify which techniques are appropriate for a variety of specific problems. In the computational laboratory, students will gain practical experience of computational techniques.
This module will be taken by all CDT students (Only Term 1 for Materials Strand students).
Materials Applications in Fusion - Term 1, University of Oxford
The choice of materials is extremely important in a fusion reactor, where there are often high heat loads and high neutron fluxes. In this module you will learn about the different areas of a fusion device where materials are particularly important. Most of the lectures will address the issues in a tokamak environment, where the research is more developed. Students will be divided into groups and asked to evaluate the implications of the lecture materials for an inertial fusion reactor, making a group presentation on their findings at the end of the week. Following the course, students will write an essay on this same subject.
This module is taken by all Fusion CDT students.
Analytical and Characterisation Tools - Year 1, University of Oxford/Manchester
Following completion of this module, students should have a solid understanding of how Transmission Electron Microscopy, X-ray and Atom Probe Tomography, neutron diffraction and scattering, and residual stress measurement techniques work, both in theoretical terms and with hands-on experience of imaging/data analysis. Students should understand how these methods contribute to understanding key issues in nuclear materials, and should be well placed to consider how areas of their own research may benefit from the application of these methods.
This module will be taken by CDT Materials Strand students only.
Integrated Systems and Project Management - Term 2, University of Durham
Fusion reactors are complex installations which bring together a wide range of engineering disciplines. This course aims to provide an introduction to the basic optical engineering principles which underlie the design of diagnostics for burning fusion plasmas, together with the concepts of systems engineering and project management which underpin the successful completion of large engineering projects. The final part of the course will consider the methods used to interface the diagnostic systems to on-line or off-line computer systems. Where possible the course will be illustrated using examples from existing fusion devices to provide specific applications.
This is a one-week module, and will be taken by both CDT Plasma and Materials Strand students.
Fusion Technology - Term 2, University of York
A key step in developing fusion as a viable source of electricity production is the development of reactor technologies to exploit the energy produced in burning plasmas. This complex subject encompasses a range of science and engineering disciplines, including materials science, physics, optical, electrical and mechanical engineering. Topics include materials damage and activation (which consider the effects of radiation on reactor materials and optics assemblies), tritium handling and breeding (including possible breeder blanket designs, advanced fuels, and strategies for controlling tritium retention within the reactor), inertial confinement driver technologies and target manufacturing processes, and auxiliary reactor components such as specialist heating systems for magnetic confinement fusion.
This module will be delivered by staff from the University of York, Central Laser Facility and Culham Centre for Fusion Energy.
This is a one-week module, and is taken by all CDT and MSc Fusion Energy students.
Plasma Surface Interactions - Term 2, University of York and Liverpool (taught by University of Liverpool)
The interaction of plasma with materials is a complex and important interdisciplinary topic with applications across a wide range of fusion and technological plasma research. For example, plasmas in contact with surfaces can erode materials, they can deposit materials, or they can change the surface chemistry of materials. In tokamaks, the interaction of the plasma with the material walls is often detrimental to the performance of the core plasma, and this is a very active and important area of fusion energy research. This module aims to provide an overview of the principles that govern the interaction between a plasma and a material surface. The course begins with a series of short lectures that describes the plasma boundary layer (known as the “sheath”) that is responsible for driving energetic particle fluxes to material surfaces. The basic chemical and physical processes that occur at the material boundary are then introduced with examples from fusion and technological applications. Finally, the surface analytical and microscopy techniques that can be used to characterize the material surface are described. Using the ideas developed in the lectures, the module continues with a series of short laboratory experiments to demonstrate the practical implementation of plasma-surface diagnostics, to observe the effect of plasma on a surface and, finally, to characterize the damage to material surfaces that can arise from plasma interactions.
This is a one-week module, and will be taken by both CDT Plasma and Materials Strand students.
Radiation Damage - Term 1, University of Oxford
Radiation damage is a complex process, which occurs over disparate length- and time-scales. Events occurring on the scales of nanometres and picoseconds give rise to effects on the scales of metres and years. This course aims to introduce the physical processes happening over these scales, together with the mathematical and computational apparatus required to model them.
This module will be taken by CDT Materials Strand students only.
Materials for Nuclear Power - Term 2, University of Oxford
This course links the materials requirements for future fusion reactors with the materials solutions previously and currently deployed in fission reactors. Over the last 70 years structural materials for fission have been continually developed and studied while fusion materials have lagged behind
. They have also benefited from the examination of in service components and materials, exposed to decades of radiation damage, which can lead to physical changes not observed during proxy irradiations. In many cases the fusion community can use lessons learnt in the fission materials to aid materials design and deployment.
This module will be taken by CDT Materials Strand students only.
Collaboratory Project - Year 2, various locations
This module will develop a number of key research skills such as planning a project, writing a proposal, executing a short, intensive project (to budget and time) and disseminating the results by a short letter-style paper and a conference-style talk. Students bid for in the region of £3,000 to fund their mini research project. A key element of the collaboratory project is that it should involve a collaboration, perhaps with another CDT student in the same cohort, but it could also be a collaboration with a different partner, including internationally. It is important that students design a project that broadens their skills beyond those that they will develop in their PhD research project. They should be adventurous in their research ideas in the planning stage, but have contingency plans if things go wrong.
This project is taken by both CDT Plasma and Materials Strand students