Ömer Koç
PhD Student - University of Manchester
Project Title: Irradiation-induced microstructure evolution in a Nb-containing Zr-alloy
Ömer Koç completed his BSc and MSc degrees in Metallurgy and Materials Science at Middle East Technical University in Turkey. He worked as a Scientific Programmes Expert at TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) before starting his PhD at Manchester.
Omer's PhD project focuses on (S)TEM analysis of proton- and neutron-irradiated Nb-containing alloys, which show significantly lower breakaway growth compared to Zircaloy series. The project will include detailed study of both irradiation conditions in order to gain better understanding of the nature and formation of a-loops and c-loops, together with high-resolution EDX analysis to characterise migration of alloying elements. Neutron-irradiated samples from the BOR-60 test reactor will studied within the course of his PhD, across the five different neutron fluences available.