Dynamic design of radiation-resistant alloys
Abstract: Fission reactors are host to some of the most extreme environments structural metallic materials can be exposed to. Energetic particles (neutrons, ions) typically create displacement cascades hence trigger the formation of irradiation-induced defects that eventually disrupt microstructures, leading to swelling, irradiation creep, or embrittlement during service.
Material design guidelines employed so far have aimed at introducing defect sinks during synthesis such as grain boundaries (nanocrystalline alloys), phase boundaries (nanolaminates), second-phase particles (ODS steels) among others. While exhibiting attractive properties initially, these alloys tend to fail during service as their interfaces become destabilized during irradiation.
In this talk, I will present novel strategies to design alloys out of equilibrium and utilize irradiation as a vector to create these interfaces during service. These leverage the combination of ballistic mixing and temperature to trigger phase transformations dynamically. These strategies will be illustrated in model alloys and their possible extension to complex concentrated alloys will be discussed. Together, these approaches open new opportunities in alloy design for extreme environments.
Bio: Marie A. Charpagne is an assistant professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She graduated with a PhD in Materials Science from Mines ParisTech in 2017, focusing on thermo-mechanical processing. Before joining UIUC in Fall 2021, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California in Santa Barbara, where she developed new techniques in correlative and 3D electron microscopy. Her research now leverages core concepts in physical metallurgy, rapid solidification and micro-mechanics, to design new alloys that adapt dynamically to extreme environments. She received her NSF CAREER award as well as the ACS New investigator award in 2023, the TMS Early career faculty fellow award in 2025, and is the author of over 45 peer-reviewed articles.