| Abstract Scope |
The complex thermal, mechanical, and radiation environments in both the aging fleet of current nuclear reactors and those of future fission and fusion energy systems present a significant material selection challenge. The classical process for validating materials selection utilizes post irradiation examination that comes at a significant financial and time costs. A potential methodology to rapidly down select new materials proposed for these systems might be the utilization of in-situ ion irradiation testing in coupled environments. With clever utilization of microfluidics, small scale mechanical testing, and detailed electronics, it is possible to couple ion irradiation to various combinations of thermal, mechanical, and chemical environments. This presentation will highlight the recent advancements at the Tennessee Ion Beam Materials Laboratory to utilize in-situ Acoustic Emission (AE), Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM), Transient Grating Spectroscopy (TGS), as well as Continuous Stiffness Measurement (CSM) nanoindentation to understand materials in these complex coupled environments. |