Research Description

Dr. Yang’s research interests have revolved around the opportunities at the intersection of nuclear engineering, materials science and engineering and electrical engineering. Special emphasis is placed on developing new materials and devices for improving radiation detection and imaging technologies, which are widely needed in medical imaging, nonproliferation, nuclear security, industrial process monitoring, environmental safety survey and remediation, astronomical observation instrumentation and high energy physics R&D. Dr. Yang is also interested in investigating radiation effects in electronic, optical and structural materials and developing radiation-resistant materials. All of these topics are investigated using both theory and experimental techniques.

Grants

Conceptual Design of Subcapsule to House Fiber-Optic Pressure Sensor for Use in Irradiation Experiment

US Dept. of Energy (DOE)(11/07/22 - 9/30/23)

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Conceptual Design of Subcapsule to House Fiber-Optic Pressure Sensor for Use in Irradiation Experiment

Sponsor: US Dept. of Energy (DOE)

Start Date: 11/07/22

End Date: 9/30/23

Abstract

In this work, we will develop a conceptual design of subcapsule to house fiber-optic pressure sensor for use in irradiation experiment.

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Understanding irradiation behaviors of ultrawide bandgap Ga2O3 high temperature sensor materials for advanced nuclear reactor systems

US Dept. of Energy (DOE)(10/01/21 - 9/30/24)

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Understanding irradiation behaviors of ultrawide bandgap Ga2O3 high temperature sensor materials for advanced nuclear reactor systems

Sponsor: US Dept. of Energy (DOE)

Start Date: 10/01/21

End Date: 9/30/24

Abstract

In this project, we propose to conduct a series of irradiation experiments on Ga2O3 at targeted temperatures and perform systematic post irradiation examination to understand Ga2O3’s irradiation behaviors in high temperature and strong radiation environment, thus providing decisive information regarding their potential for reactor instrumentation and fuel cycle applications.

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High Resolution Scanning Acoustic Microscopy System for High Throughput Characterization of Materials and Nuclear Fuels

US Dept. of Energy (DOE)(10/01/21 - 9/30/23)

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High Resolution Scanning Acoustic Microscopy System for High Throughput Characterization of Materials and Nuclear Fuels

Sponsor: US Dept. of Energy (DOE)

Start Date: 10/01/21

End Date: 9/30/23

Abstract

The goal of this NEUP infrastructure project is to acquire a state-of-the-art high resolution scanning acoustic microscopy system to enhance NCSU’s educational and research capabilities in high throughput characterization of nuclear fuels, nuclear sensor materials, cladding materials, reactor structural materials and 3D printed components.

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Conceptual Design Study for Device to Move Sensors Axially within Instrumented Lead Irradiation Experiments

US Dept. of Energy (DOE)(11/13/20 - 6/30/23)

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Conceptual Design Study for Device to Move Sensors Axially within Instrumented Lead Irradiation Experiments

Sponsor: US Dept. of Energy (DOE)

Start Date: 11/13/20

End Date: 6/30/23

Abstract

In this project, we will perform conceptual design study for device to move sensors axially within instrumented lead irradiation experiments.

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Flexible Hard Ceramic Coatings by Ultrasonic Spray Mist-CVD for Dry Storage Canisters of Spent Nuclear Fuel and Waste

US Dept. of Energy (DOE)(10/01/20 - 9/30/24)

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Flexible Hard Ceramic Coatings by Ultrasonic Spray Mist-CVD for Dry Storage Canisters of Spent Nuclear Fuel and Waste

Sponsor: US Dept. of Energy (DOE)

Start Date: 10/01/20

End Date: 9/30/24

Abstract

The goal of the project is to develop and evaluate the use of ultrasonic spray mist chemical vapor deposition (Mist-CVD) manufacturing process for depositing high quality multi-component ceramic coatings (TiN, ZrO2, Al2O3, and MoS2), enabled by flexible sandwiched Zr-Si-O buffer layer, for enhancing the long term reliability of dry storage canisters (DSC). Such flexible ceramic coatings represent a new class of coatings, which are simultaneously hard, tough and resistant to cracking. This project aims at establishing a fundamental understanding of the composition-structure-property-performance relationship of these emerging flexible ceramic coatings materials to identify key factors that lead to their wide applications in DSC towards improved resistances to stress corrosion cracking (SCC), decay heat and hydrogen diffusion. The success of the project will generate crucial insights into the potential deployment of flexible hard ceramic coatings to enhance the reliability of long-term storage and maintenance of DSC.

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Radiation Hard Ga2O3 Detectors for High Energy Physics

US Dept. of Energy (DOE)(7/01/20 - 7/31/22)

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Radiation Hard Ga2O3 Detectors for High Energy Physics

Sponsor: US Dept. of Energy (DOE)

Start Date: 7/01/20

End Date: 7/31/22

Abstract

The goal of the project is to develop ultra-wide bandgap Ga2O3 materials as next-generation radiation hard solid-state detectors for high energy physics applications. The proposed Ga2O3 radiation detector development has great potential to support the instrumentation update need of ATLAS and CMS and fits very well into the HEP “Detector R&D” research subprogram. We submitted this proposal in FY 19 and received very positive review results. Encouraged by the ‘resubmit’ suggestion of FY19 review panel, we have been improving the proposal according to several comments of panel reviewers. Now we decide to submit this improved proposal in response to the FY 20 solicitation (FOA# DE-FOA-0002172). It should be noted that we have established a stable purchase channel of high resistivity Ga2O3 materials and our preliminary tests have demonstrated their response to sealed source. Meanwhile our detector material development capability has been significantly strengthened by adding a high temperature optical floating zone (FZ) furnace system. The FZ furnace is a major equipment to produce high purity detector materials for HEP applications (e.g., Float Zone silicon is exclusively used for HEP radiation detector applications). Such an addition will allow us to precisely tune the electrical properties of both purchased Ga2O3 and in-house manufactured Ga2O3 for optimizing the detector performance.

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Development of an In-Situ Testing Laboratory for Research and Education of Very High Temperature Reactor Materials

US Dept. of Energy (DOE)(10/01/20 - 9/30/22)

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Development of an In-Situ Testing Laboratory for Research and Education of Very High Temperature Reactor Materials

Sponsor: US Dept. of Energy (DOE)

Start Date: 10/01/20

End Date: 9/30/22

Abstract

A novel thermo-mechanical fatigue (TMF) testing system, referred by miniature TMF (MTMF) system has been developed at NCSU for in-situ testing of miniature specimens within Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM). The MTMF is capable of prescribing axial-torsional loading to solid specimen and axial-torsional-internal pressure loading to tubular specimen of 1 mm diameter at elevated temperatures (up to 1000oC) to investigate deformation of microstructure and failure mechanism in real time. Currently, in-situ SEM testing with the MTMF is performed at the Analytical Instrumentation Facility (AIF) at NCSU. This poses a serious restriction to investigate failure mechanisms of very high temperature reactor (VHTRs) materials primarily because with a user facility, such as AIF, we can only perform short-term tests that span over few days. However, fatigue, creep and creep-fatigue tests for VHTR materials may span from few days to several weeks. Hence, existing SEMs on campus are not available for long-term in-situ testing of VHTR materials. Currently, fatigue, creep and creep-fatigue failure mechanisms of new and existing alloys are mostly investigated through ex-situ testing or short duration in-situ uniaxial testing within SEM. Consequently, initiation and propagation of many failure mechanisms, especially interactions between creep and fatigue mechanisms in reducing high temperature component lives remain unknown. Hence, developing a shared in-situ testing laboratory (ISTL) is essential to allow NCSU researchers to perform novel research on nuclear materials addressing issues of fatigue, creep and creep-fatigue failure mechanisms. The proposed ISTL dedicated to performing long-term fatigue, creep and creep-fatigue tests is in critical need to develop design criteria of VHTR materials for ASME Code Sec III Div 5. However, existing facilities at NCSU or any other universities or national labs in the nation do not have a facility dedicated to perform long term tests representing realistic loading conditions of VHTR. Therefore, a suitable SEM compatible with the MTMF system at NCSU is proposed to be acquired to develop an ISTL to address high temperature nuclear materials and ASME Code issues. With the availability of such a ISTL, uniaxial and multiaxial cyclic experiments prescribing realistic thermo-mechanical fatigue (TMF), creep and creep-fatigue loading can be performed on specimens of VHTR materials, such as Alloy 617, 316H, 800H, Grade 91 steel, for addressing the high temperature component design and development issues. Finally, because of the size of commercially available TMF systems, these cannot be used for in-situ SEM testing, which is essential for investigating existing alloys and developing new alloy for VHTRs. Hence, acquisition of a SEM will give the NCSU research community unprecedented capability to perform fundamental research and educate next generation scientists in studying real-time long-term microstructure evolution of nuclear materials under uniaxial and multiaxial loading. In addition, the proposed equipment will allow training undergraduate and graduate students and postdocs in performing material characterization using advanced techniques and provide hands on experiences to students in various undergraduate and graduate courses.

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Development of Next-Generation Nuclear Sensor Materials for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems

US Dept. of Energy (DOE)(3/12/19 - 9/30/19)

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Development of Next-Generation Nuclear Sensor Materials for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems

Sponsor: US Dept. of Energy (DOE)

Start Date: 3/12/19

End Date: 9/30/19

Abstract

In this project, we aim at establishing new collaboration between the NCSU faculty and INL scientists on the development of advanced sensor materials for nuclear applications. Our goal is to extend the predictive model and experiment verification of materials developed from this INL LDRD project into R&D of robust nuclear sensor materials for use in harsh nuclear environment.

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Enhancement of Material Characterization Capabilities at North Carolina State University for Supporting Nuclear Energy Related Studies

US Dept. of Energy (DOE)(10/01/19 - 9/30/22)

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Enhancement of Material Characterization Capabilities at North Carolina State University for Supporting Nuclear Energy Related Studies

Sponsor: US Dept. of Energy (DOE)

Start Date: 10/01/19

End Date: 9/30/22

Abstract

The objective of this project is to enhance research and educational infrastructure of Nuclear Engineering Program of North Carolina State University (NCSU) in material characterization/examination for supporting nuclear energy related studies.

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