Rob is a graduate research assistant, and completed his Masters project with the research group, focusing on analysing the ductilising effect of rhenium in W-Re alloys.
Project: Sub-scale ductility analysis of W and W-Re
A sub-scale three-point bending technique was designed, verified, and used to compare the ductility of tungsten and tungsten-25% rhenium alloys for use in fusion reactor plasma facing components. The addition of rhenium is found to significantly increase ductility, though this effect is diminished after heat treatment. Future tests aim to examine the effect of strain rates further, and employ digital image correlation in combination with the technique to examine strain evolution.
Analytical/experimental techniques employed: SEM, EBSD, XRD, Mechanical testing