RPI wins radiation model grant

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) have received a $1m (£0.6m) grant from the US Department of Defense (DoD) to model how different metals are affected by neutron irradiation.

The three-year study, awarded by the DoD’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and led by Suvranu De, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering at RPI, could lead to more effective, more predictable performance of electronic shielding materials in satellites and structural components in submarines and nuclear reactors.

'We’re looking very carefully at how the mechanical properties of metals change over time when exposed to radiation. This should allow us to accurately predict the expected lifespan of these metals and then design better devices,' De said.

De and his team will build complex computational models to simulate the irradiation of different metals at the atomic level and then scale them up to see how the phenomena at the atomic level impact the overall mechanical properties of the material and device.