Materials Science Ceramic and Metallic Coatings Summer Placement 2024

UK Atomic Energy Authority

Nov 17, 2023

Applications are closed

Internship
Full-time
Summer Internship
Science
Engineering
Oxford

Requirements

We offer excellent opportunities for motivated and enthusiastic undergraduate students studying at UK Universities to join our 8-12-week summer placement scheme. The scheme is designed for students entering their penultimate or final year of studies, with potential opportunities post-graduation.
To be considered you will need to be working towards a relevant degree and will be required to have the right to work in the UK.
This role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), including The Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions.

Responsibilities

Future fusion power plants will need to breed tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, to use as fuel. Tritium is a small, highly mobile isotope and it is essential to prevent loss of tritium to the structural materials to enable safe and sustainable power plant operation. Thin (micron-scale) ceramic coatings are one way to control tritium permeation and are being considered for use in the breeder blanket of tokamak devices. In many cases, these ceramic permeation barriers must also operate in corrosive, liquid metal environments. Refractory metal coatings can resist liquid metal corrosion, enabling the ceramic permeation barriers to survive this environment.
This project will assess the thermal stability, adhesion and quality of a range of novel ceramic and metallic coating materials developed for breeder blanket applications. This is an important first step in the materials development process and will contribute to UKAEA’s wider coating development programme. Students will learn how to mount and prepare ceramic and metallic samples and analyse them using optical and scanning electron microscopy. There will also be opportunity to assess the X-ray diffraction data taken from the coatings, and determine the effect of temperature on the coating properties. Students will be based in the laboratory, will gain experience coordinating and carrying out experimental data collection and will write up and present their findings. Experience in microstructural characterisation is preferred but not essential- full training will be provided.

UK Atomic Energy Authority

Developing the ultimate energy source, fusion energy

Energy

Industry

1001-5000

Employees

1954

Founded Year

Mission & Purpose

As the UK’s national fusion lab, the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s mission is to lead the commercial development of fusion power and related technology, and position the UK as a leader in sustainable fusion energy. We are meeting the scientific and engineering challenges that come with such a grand ambition. UKAEA is made up of four main facilities: Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE), Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE), Materials Research Facility (MRF), and - in partnership with STFC - the Oxfordshire Advanced Skills (OAS) apprentice training centre. As part of CCFE, we operate the world’s largest fusion device – the Joint European Torus, or JET – on behalf of the European fusion consortium EUROfusion. Connect with us to hear more about our world-class research and career opportunities and to discuss commercial opportunities.