Dr David Bowden, UKAEA, will be giving the Keynote Presentation at the 8th Postgraduate Research Symposium on Ferrous Metallurgy
Dr David Bowden, Materials Science and Engineering Group Leader at the UK Atomic Energy Authority, will be giving the Keynote Presentation at the 8th Postgraduate Research Symposium on Ferrous Metallurgy, which takes place on 25th February at Armourers Hall, London.
PRESENTATION -
“Increasing the heat: Developing next-generation high-temperature steels to deliver commercial fusion energy”
As the UK nuclear ‘renaissance’ continues apace, steels continue to demonstrate incredible versatility and performance, particularly as we consider next-generation structural materials to use in the most demanding environments ever developed. Proposed commercial fusion powerplants contain plasmas ten times hotter than the sun, with materials witnessing extreme levels of radiation damage. This is coupled with challenging mechanical loads, and other environmental factors such as corrosion. Yet nano-structuring and carefully designed steel microstructures can be tuned to manage these effects.
A UK consortium, NEURONE (Neutron Irradiation of Advanced Steels), operating across academia, national labs and industry are tackling the challenge of developing steels to use in fusion plants, and utilising existing national infrastructure to deliver the tonnages of material required by the end of the decade.
This talk will explore some of the key challenges we face within this programme, as well as the science behind the steels being developed. Importantly, the opportunity for the UK to lead the charge in this emerging sector will be outlined.
Since joining UKAEA in 2019, David has led materials teams in both Fusion Technology and the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) programme. Now, in the Materials Division, he leads the £12.5m NEURONE programme and the wider metallics development portfolio.
The Postgraduate Research Symposium on Ferrous Metallurgy is organised by the Materials Processing Institute and supported by the Armourers & Brasiers’ Company and the Iron & Steel Society of IOM3. This symposium gives universities, researchers, and businesses the opportunity to find out about the latest thinking in ferrous metallurgy.
For more about the symposium and to register to attend click the following link: https://www.mpiuk.com/postgraduate-research-symposium.htm
22 January 2025
