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For over thirty-five years, Dr. Raśl B. Rebak has committed to advancing corrosion science and engineering within a vast range of disciplines, including nuclear energy, petrochemical, aerospace, and healthcare. In the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi accident in 2011, Dr. Rebak proposed a revolutionary idea to the United States Department of Energy (DOE) to investigate replacing zirconium-based alloys with iron-chromium-aluminum (FeCrAl) alloys as the standard material for light water reactor (LWR) fuel cladding. He, along with Dr. Bruce Pint from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, were awarded the AMPP 2019 Innovation of the Year award for the successful repurposing of high temperature FeCrAl alloys for a completely different application as cladding for nuclear fuel. Rebak is also the recipient of the 2026 TMS “Research to Industrial Practice Award” for using federal grants from the Office of Nuclear Energy at DOE to establish a network of research collaboration between universities, national laboratories, fuel vendors and utility reactor owners which helped in the training of many younger technologists as experts in nuclear materials (and increasing the membership of TMS). His efforts in adapting FeCrAl alloys for nuclear fuel cladding applications has gained traction in both European and Asian nuclear energy sectors as an option to enhance safety margins of their LWRs. The landscape of adapting the available library of structural materials for emerging applications in extreme environments is paramount in accelerating innovation, especially for reinforcing critical infrastructure (i.e. data centers, military bases, etc.). Such an endeavor requires ingenuity, cooperation, resources. The purpose of this symposium is to highlight similar achievements with high-performance structural materials to Dr. Rebak’s that have occurred in other sectors, including but not limited to aerospace, nuclear, healthcare, chemical, transportation, energy storage, carbon sequestration, and power generation industries.
We invite presenters to share their ongoing research in adapting high-performance structural materials originally developed for a different function to a new application through by:
1) advancing manufacturing processes, including fabrication, conditioning, and hardening techniques, to alter structural phases, defect structure, grain size/boundaries,
2) utilizing experimentally-driven modelling and simulation to strategically enhance electronic, mechanical properties, thermophysical, and/or surface properties,
3) utilizing novel or updated characterization techniques to evaluate structural materials beyond their originally specified performance ranges, including surface, thermal, chemical, electrical, mechanical, and irradiation performance,
4) applying novel surface treatments, including coatings, to adapt materials to conditions beyond their originally designed performance range
5) re-evaluating and updating standards to accommodate new applications for existing materials
6) facilitating a conversation between seasoned experts and younger generations technologists, a forum to exchange information and experiences. |