USA - UCSB

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA

Santa Barbara, California 93106

Telephone: +1 805 893 2430 (or see below)
Telefax: +1 805 893 4731
E-mail: (see below)

Principal Investigator:	Odette, G. Robert (Ext.: 3525, E-mail: odette@engineering.ucsb.edu )
Co-Principal Investigator:	Lucas, Glenn E. (Ext.: 4069, E-mail: gene@engineering.ucsb.edu )

Research Staff

Donahue, Eric
Gragg, David

Klingensmith, Douglas
Matthew, Alinger

Ming, He
Sheckherd, J. William

Research activities:
Design and operation of fusion reactors will require quantitative predictions of in-service degradation of a wide range of mechanical properties. For defect tolerant structural designs, the maximum allowable stresses and strains will often be dictated by the sizes and ocnfigurations of cracks that develop (or are presumed to develop) in service and the effective fracture toughness of the structural material. Hence, the primary focus of this progam is on the development of fracture assessment methods for fusion reactor structures, with particular emphasis on both ferritic and tempered martensitic stainless steels (FMS) and vanadium alloys. The overall approach is:

1. to develop a physically-based understanding of the evolution of microstructure in these materials at relatively low irradiation temperatures (200-400^oC) and doses (<30dpa);
2. measure changes in flow and fracture properties as a function of irradiation and test variables using advanced small specimen techniques;
3. derive relationships between the microstructure and changes in basic flow properties;
4. use a combined micro and macromechanics approach to relate changes inflow properties and local, crack-tip fracture parameters to changes in macroscopic fracture behavior and;
5. demonstrate the use of micro/macromechanics models in the assessment of the integrity of fusion structures.