Education

Research Description

Dr. He focuses on studying materials behavior in extreme environments, specifically the environmental degradation of materials in nuclear power systems. His research aims to understand how processing and radiation/corrosion environments affect the microstructure, mechanical/thermal properties, and structural integrity/durability of materials and components.

Publications

Intragranular irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) of 316L stainless steel made by laser direct energy deposition additive manufacturing: Delta ferrite-dislocation channel interaction

Yang, J., Hawkins, L., He, L., Mahmood, S., Song, M., Schulze, K., & Lou, X. (2023), JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS, 577. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2023.154305

STEM/EDS and APT study on the microstructure and microchemistry of neutron irradiated ZIRLOTM

Yu, Z., Bachhav, M., Teng, F., He, L., Dubey, M., & Couet, A. (2023), Journal of Nuclear Materials, 573, 154139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2022.154139

Temperature-Dependent Morphological Evolution during Corrosion of the Ni-20Cr Alloy in Molten Salt Revealed by Multiscale Imaging

Liu, X., Bawane, K., Zheng, X., Ge, M., Halstenberg, P., Maltsev, D. S., … Chen-Wiegart, Y.-chen K. (2023), ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES, 15(10), 13772–13782. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.2c23207

Transmission electron microscopy investigation of phase transformation and fuel constituent redistribution in neutron irradiated U-10wt.%Zr fuel

Thomas, J., Liu, X., He, L., Murray, D., Teng, F., Kombaiah, B., … Okuniewski, M. A. (2023), JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS, 581. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2023.154443

Void swelling in additively manufactured 316L stainless steel with hafnium composition gradient under self-ion irradiation

Song, M., Yang, J., Liu, X., Hawkins, L. R., Jiao, Z., He, L., … Lou, X. (2023), Journal of Nuclear Materials, 578, 154351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2023.154351

A combined theoretical-experimental investigation of thermal transport in low-dose irradiated thorium dioxide

Deskins, W. R., Khanolkar, A., Mazumder, S., Dennett, C. A., Bawane, K., Hua, Z., … El-Azab, A. (2022), Acta Materialia, 241, 118379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2022.118379

Assessing the interfacial corrosion mechanism of Inconel 617 in chloride molten salt corrosion using multi-modal advanced characterization techniques

Copeland-Johnson, T. M., Murray, D. J., Cao, G., & He, L. (2022), Frontiers in Nuclear Engineering, 1. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnuen.2022.1049693

Chemical and elemental mapping of spent nuclear fuel sections by soft X-ray spectromicroscopy

Ditter, A. S., Smiles, D. E., Lussier, D., Altman, A. B., Bachhav, M., He, L., … Shuh, D. K. (2022), Journal of Synchrotron Radiation, 29(1), 67–79. https://doi.org/10.1107/S1600577521012315

Compositionally graded specimen made by laser additive manufacturing as a high-throughput method to study radiation damages and irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking

Yang, J., Hawkins, L., Song, M., He, L., Bachhav, M., Pan, Q., … Lou, X. (2022), Journal of Nuclear Materials, 560, 153493. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2021.153493

Comprehensive characterization of irradiation induced defects in ceria: Impact of point defects on vibrational and optical properties

Chauhan, V. S., Ferrigno, J., Adnan, S., Pakarinen, J., He, L., Hurley, D. H., & Khafizov, M. (2022), Journal of Applied Physics. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0099189

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Grants

Ion Irradiation and Characterization of Spent Nuclear Fuels

US Dept. of Energy (DOE)(4/20/23 - 9/30/25)

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Ion Irradiation and Characterization of Spent Nuclear Fuels

Sponsor: US Dept. of Energy (DOE)

Start Date: 4/20/23

End Date: 9/30/25

Abstract

The goal of the current proposal is to enhance the scientific understanding of the mechanisms leading to high-burnup structure (HBS) formation in nuclear fuel and develop experimentally validated computational capabilities for predicting grain subdivision and associated fission products evolution. To improve the economics of commercial nuclear power production, utilities are seeking to increase the allowable burnup limit of UO2 fuel. However, exposure to extended burnup leads to the formation of a refined grain structure (i.e., HBS), which generates the risk of performance degradation and fragmentation of UO2 fuels. Therefore, understanding the HBS formation mechanisms and its impact on fuel performance is important.

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