Thomas bailey
PhD Student - University of Birmingham
Project Title: Developing New and Novel Methods for Mechanically Testing Materials in the Neutron Beamline for Nuclear Applications
Thomas Bailey completed a degree in Physics at Nottingham Trent University, before joining the University of Nottingham as a postgraduate researcher in hyperpolarised nuclear spin systems for applications in magnetic resonance imaging.
Thomas now works at the University of Birmingham as an accelerator operator for the MC40 cyclotron and High Flux Accelerator-Driven Neutron Facility. He continues to work in this role whilst studying for his PhD part time at Birmingham. Due to him continuing to work at the facility whilst undertaking his PhD, it poses a great opportunity for him to apply his knowledge of the accelerators at the facility for his ongoing PhD project.
Thomas’s PhD project, sponsored by Rolls-Royce Submarines, focuses on developing an experimental setup to gain a better understanding of irradiation creep behaviour of zirconium alloys under neutron irradiation. This will be achieved by commissioning a high temperature in-situ irradiation creep rig at the accelerator facility. A better understanding of these creep processes under these conditions would allow for a more accurate prediction of the through-life behaviour and support longer operational periods or simplified design, increasing cost effectiveness in the nuclear industry.