Kadir Tugrul Demirci
PhD Student – University of Manchester
Project Title: Understanding the influence of vanadium on the behaviour of Zr alloys during irradiation
Kadir Tugrul Demirci completed his BSc and MSc degrees in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. During his MSc, he worked as a researcher at the Nuclear Energy Research Institute within the Turkish Energy, Nuclear and Minerals Research Agency (TENMAK).
His PhD research focuses on the role of vanadium as an alloying element in zirconium alloys under irradiation. While elements like niobium have been widely studied for their impact on irradiation-induced growth (IIG) and corrosion resistance, vanadium remains less explored. This project aims to investigate how vanadium influences microstructural evolution and mechanical stability during irradiation, with the goal of improving the performance of zirconium alloys in nuclear reactor environments. To this end, advanced characterization techniques such as Scanning and Transmission Electron Microscopy, Atom Probe Tomography (APT), and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) will be employed to analyse the material's microstructural changes at different length scales.