Djamel Kaoumi

Professor of Nuclear Engineering

Prof Djamel Kaoumi received his PhD in Nuclear Engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 2007 and his Masters of Science from University of Florida in 2001 with a minor in Materials Science and Engineering. Prior to this, he received his Diplome d’Ingenieur from the Institut Polytechnique National de Grenoble in France in 2000 and his BSc in Physics from the same French institute in 1999.

Prof. Kaoumi’s research interests revolve around developing a mechanistic understanding of microstructure property relationships in nuclear materials, with an emphasis on microstructure evolution under harsh environment (i.e. irradiation, high temperature, and mechanical stress) and how it can impact the macroscopic properties and performance. Understanding the basic mechanisms of degradation of materials at the nanostructure level is necessary for the development of predictive models of the materials performance and for the design and development of better materials.

Throughout his academic journey, Prof Kaoumi has taught classes on “Introduction to Nuclear Materials”, “Radiation Damage”, and “Radiation detection and measurement” to a diverse mix of students with different backgrounds and different majors (Nuclear Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering) and he has been mentoring students from different backgrounds.

Education

PhD 2007

Nuclear Engineering

Pensylvania State University

MS 2001

Nuclear Engineering and minor in Materials Science

University of Florida

BS 1999

Physics

Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (France)

Research Description

1) Alloy Development for Nuclear Applications, particularly structural and cladding applications, through powder metallurgy: ODS Ni-based alloys for Molten Salt Reactor, ODS steels for Fusion applications Refractory Alloys for Gen IV reactors in general. Amoong processing routes, Additive Manufacturing is primarily used. 2) Effects of Irradiation on microstructure, on mechanical properties through the use of ion irradiation, and more particularly in-situ ion irradiation in the TEM. 3) Corrosion studies in Light Water Reactor simulated water chemistry through the use of pressurized water autoclaves available in Prof Kaoumi’s lab. 4) Coupled effects of irradiation and corrosion on alloys of interest for Gen IV reactor (Molten Salt environment and Liquid Metal cooled reactors). 5/ Mechanical behavior of advanced alloys through in situ testing the TEM, and under the synchrotron X-Ray beam, in complement to ex-situ bulk mechanical testing. Materials of interest include advanced alloys for structural and cladding applications in advanced nuclear systems (e.g. Austenitic steels , Advanced Ferritic/Martensitic Steels, Oxide-Dispersion-Strengthened (ODS) Steels), High-temperature Ni-based alloys, Zirconium alloys and nanocrystalline metallic systems. Characterization techniques of predilection include both in-situ and ex-situ techniques e.g. In-situ irradiation in TEM (over 15 years of experience), In-situ straining in a TEM, chemi-STEM, SEM, XRD, Synchrotron XRD. Prof Kaoumi has built extensive expertise for in-situ experiments done in a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) which include In-situ ion-irradiation and In-situ straining and mechanical testing experiments. His expertise and contribution to understanding the microstructure evolution under irradiation/stress/temperature through in-situ characterization have earned Prof Kaoumi more than 45 invited talks/seminars related to this scope of his research.

Publications

Multi-length scale characterization of point defects in thermally oxidized, proton irradiated iron oxides
Chan, H. L., Auguste, R., Romanovskaia, E., Morales, A. L., Schmidt, F., Romanovski, V., … Scully, J. R. (2023), MATERIALIA, 28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtla.2023.101762

The mechanism behind the high radiation tolerance of Fe-Cr alloys

Agarwal, S., Butterling, M., Liedke, M. O., Yano, K. H., Schreiber, D. K., Jones, A. C. L., … Selim, F. A. (2022), JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS, 131(12). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0085086
A multimodal approach to revisiting oxidation defects in Cr2O3
Auguste, R., Chan, H. L., Romanovskaia, E., Qiu, J., Schoell, R., Liedke, M. O., … Scully, J. R. (2022), NPJ MATERIALS DEGRADATION, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41529-022-00269-7
Achieving high hetero-deformation induced (HDI) strengthening and hardening in brass by dual heterostructures
Fang, X. T., Li, Z. K., Wang, Y. F., Ruiz, M., Ma, X. L., Wang, H. Y., … Zhu, Y. T. (2022, January 30), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2021.03.088
Corrosion behavior of a series of combinatorial physical vapor deposition coatings on SiC in a simulated boiling water reactor environment
Schoell, R., Kabel, J., Lam, S., Sharma, A., Michler, J., Hosemann, P., & Kaoumi, D. (2022), JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS, 572. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2022.154022
Effect of thermal oxidation on helium implanted 316L stainless steel
Hong, M., Morales, A. L., Chan, H. L., Macdonald, D. D., Balooch, M., Xie, Y., … Hosemann, P. (2022), JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS, 132(18). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0122487
Investigation of the fatigue crack behavior of 304 stainless steels using synchrotron X-ray tomography and diffraction: Influence of the martensite fraction and role of inclusions
Schoell, R., Xi, L., West, H., Hosemann, P., Park, J.-S., Kenesei, P., … Kaoumi, D. (2022), MATERIALS CHARACTERIZATION, 188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2022.111903
Laser Powder Bed Fusion of ODS 14YWT from Gas Atomization Reaction Synthesis Precursor Powders
Saptarshi, S., DeJong, M., Rock, C., Anderson, I., Napolitano, R., Forrester, J., … Horn, T. (2022, August 2), JOM, Vol. 8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-022-05418-6
Laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing of oxide dispersion strengthened steel using gas atomized reaction synthesis powder
Horn, T., Rock, C., Kaoumi, D., Anderson, I., White, E., Prost, T., … Darsell, J. (2022), MATERIALS & DESIGN, 216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2022.110574
Mechanism of chlorine-induced stress corrosion cracking of two 304 SS heats in simulated marine environment through in situ X-ray tomography and diffraction: Role of deformation induced martensite and crack branching
Schoell, R., Xi, L., Zhao, Y., Wu, X., Hong, Y., Yu, Z., … Kaoumi, D. (2022), MATERIALS CHARACTERIZATION, 190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2022.112020

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