Laurence Skidmore

• PhD Student - University of Manchester

• Project Title: Development and Verification of in-situ irradiation creep rig mechanical testing’

  Laurence completed an MEng in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Manchester with experience in corrosion engineering in oil and gas and Graphene research looking into graphene coatings and concrete. Laurence's PhD is sponsored by Jacobs and his work is in high temperature creep strength under irritation. 

  Creep strength is defined as time dependant plastic deformation and is a key limitation for the maximum operating temperature of materials, where a component can fail over time at stresses below its yield stress. Irradiation can further cause an embrittling effect lowering the materials creep resistance and time until failure. 

  A small strain rig is being developed by the University of Manchester that will enable in-situ irradiation and straining experiments. This will be used to form a set of baseline tests and provide confidence in smaller geometry testing by comparing to standard materials testing methods to verify through scale up. The project will also aim to characterise microstructure damage under irradiation and improve creep strengthening mechanisms.