Daniel Haley

• PhD Student - University of Oxford

• Project Title: Imaging Deuterium in Zr alloys

Daniel Haley’s project, undertaken in collaboration with NNL and Rolls-Royce, sought to identify deuterium within reactor components at the atomic level. The goal of the project was to provide critical experimental evidence on the early stages of hydride formation within Zr-4 alloys.

The project utilised Atom Probe Tomography (APT), which is a 3D Time-of-flight mass spectrometry method that provides near-atomic level imaging, with high chemical sensitivity. The Oxford APT group has been leading the use of isotopic tracing in deuterium imaging, providing direct experimental data on hydrogen challenges in industrially relevant materials.

By utilising dedicated direct-deuterium to APT transfer it has been shown that, in a variety of materials, including Zr-4, deuterium can be analysed quantitatively at the near-atomic scale. Daniel’s project, in particular, sought to extend and improve charging protocols, and to examine a selection of Zr-4 alloys, in order to quantitatively evaluate hydrogen uptake as a function of damage levels, through either cold-rolling simulants, or in irradiated materials.