About this Symposium

Meeting

2027 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition

Symposium

Transmutation Effects in Materials in Fission, Fusion, and Spallation Environments

Sponsorship

TMS Structural Materials Division
TMS: Nuclear Materials Committee

Organizer(s)

Timothy G. Lach, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Eric Lang, University Of New Mexico
Weicheng Zhong, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Daniel Clark, Type One Energy Group Inc.
Arunodaya Bhattacharya, University of Birmingham
Benjamin W. Beeler, North Carolina State University

Scope

Structural materials in nuclear fission and fusion reactors and high-energy beamlines like spallation neutron sources are subjected to neutron irradiation, which induces a wide range of microstructural changes, from knock-on damage to transmutation reactions. While knock-on damage is well known to produce nanoscale defects such as dislocation loops, precipitates, and cavities, less is known about the effects of transmutation-induced products, including transmutation gases, which are particularly felt in fusion and spallation applications, which have a high transmutation rate. Understanding these effects is fundamental to delivering materials for fusion energy concepts, advanced fission reactors, and component lifetime extension and design of new beamline target and spallation neutron source applications.

This symposium is bringing together experts who are conducting state-of-the-art investigations and developing technologies to understand and simulate the effect of transmutation products for future validation with 14 MeV neutrons using fission neutrons, spallation neutron sources, and accelerator-based energetic ions. Investigations are strongly encouraged which involve neutron irradiation, innovative techniques to experimentally simulate transmutation effects, and novel facilities to study transmutation-related damage situations, especially under the application of thermo-mechanical stresses. This symposium also calls for modeling studies related to transmutation product radiation damage, evolution, and inventory build-up.

Contributions exploring transmutation effects specifically in nuclear fuels should be submitted to the "Advances in Understanding Nuclear Fuel Behavior and Performance for Extreme Environments" symposium, and contributions related to joints or welds should be directed to the "Special Topics in Nuclear" symposium.

The topics of interest include the following key aspects:

· Effects of transmutation helium, hydrogen, and other gas buildup, and solid transmutation effects (such as W to Re and Os)
· Thermo-mechanical properties testing, transmutation gas diffusivity and permeability testing, computational modeling and simulation, and advanced microstructural characterization
· Materials of interest include but are not limited to fusion structural materials and plasma facing materials, solid breeder materials, and structural materials in high energy beamlines and fission reactors
· Synergistic transmutation and radiation damage in structural and functional materials, including under applied stress and thermal gradients
· Novel experiments using existing facilities to evaluate neutron energy spectrum transmutation effects
· Industry experience in transmutation product buildup and impacts on long-term operation/regulatory approval

Abstracts Due

07/15/2026

Proceedings Plan

Undecided

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