David Bowden Email & Phone Number

Culham, England, United Kingdom

I am leading the metallics team within the Materials Science and Engineering Group at UKAEA. The metallics programme focusses primarily on delivering radiation resilient structural metals capable of operating at high temperatures within proposed commercial fusion devices. The group primarily focusses on Advanced Reduced-Activation Ferritic-Martensitic (ARAFM) steels, seeking to exploit the benefits of nanostructural enhancements of the material, whilst replicating these benefits at industrial scale. As part of my portfolio, I am leading the NEURONE (NEUtron iRradiatiOn of advaNced stEels) programme, a £10m endeavour over the next 5-years to develop an industrial scale ARAFM for use in the commercial fusion sector. To deliver this, I am leading and managing a team of >5 material scientists and engineers covering a breadth of specialisms, across alloy development, material characterisation, material irradiation and post-irradiation examination and mechanical / micromechanical testing. Alongside this, I supervise a number of doctoral and post-graduate students to aid in delivery of our programme, as well as working closely with academia and industry to bring a broad range of capabilities and skills to bear on some of the greatest materials challenges we have ever faced.

In this role, I lead the Materials for Fusion team, within the Materials Science and Engineering group at UKAEA. Our team focuses on the development and study of low-maturity materials, with a view to increasing their readiness for engineering applications in the future. These materials must meet the combined challenges of a fusion reactor such as; high heat fluxes, severe neutron irradiation and interaction with coolants such as liquid metals and molten salts, to name but a few. We are investigating material solutions such as nanostructured steels, multifunctional corrosion/tritium barrier materials and composite structures to address these challenges and we are working with academia and industry to enable accelerated research campaigns in these areas.

Culham, England, United Kingdom

Providing materials consultancy and expertise to a number of fusion energy programmes including EUROfusion and STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production). I am responsible for: - Acting as the interim leader of the STEP materials capability: Defining the programme of materials activities, coordination of activities, resourcing and providing technical support and assessments to other areas of the programme.- The leader of the Materials Development sub-capability within STEP. Identifying and assessing materials and alloy development opportunities to support fusion reactor operation. Promoting and initiating research programmes to support this task.- Providing consultancy and research support to novel manufacturing material research programmes, including components produced through additive manufacturing and powder metallurgy methods.

Culham, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

In this role - I support the activities of the material technology laboratory (MTL) team at UKAEA. My primary duties are:- Materials lead within the Resilient Nuclear Components work package in the STEP programme: This involved building up a team of materials scientists and engineers in support of materials deliverables for the STEP programme. Managed the successful delivery of a high-value programme of work to tight timescales and very fluid technical requirements. - Materials deliverable owner within EUROfusion divertor work package: Leading the materials assessment of additive manufactured armour lattice materials. Collecting and assessing data and leading others to compile technical reports and presentations as part of our deliverables in this programme.- Producing technical reports for external clients on topics such as liquid metal corrosion.

Manchester, United Kingdom

Characterisation and assessment of the irradiation performance of ternary carbide MAX phases for future fission environments.Within this project, I am investigating the potential use of MAX phases as future cladding and accident tolerant fuels in the nuclear sector. As part of this work, I utilise proton irradiation to simulate long-term exposure of these materials to neutrons whilst in service. This allows us to establish suitable MAX phase compositions which show promise in a nuclear-context. We are also working to identify the mechanisms responsible for microstructural changes within these materials, which is a complex undertaking due to their nano-layered structure.This project is funded through the Carbides for Future Fission Environments (CaFFE) consortium, a collaboration between the University of Manchester, the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London.Within this role I was also awarded funding as co-investigator on an EPSRC grant investigating the feasibility of using silicide-strengthened steels within the energy sector as future wear-resistant materials with reduced neutron activation after use in light-water reactors. This project builds upon the application of a novel phase that I identified during my PhD.Additionally within this role I have carried out consultancy work for industrial partners, such as investigating the wear resistances of a range of materials for Rolls-Royce. This culminated in the production of a technical report which covered the extensive and thorough testing that I carried out.

Manchester

I worked on a 4 year Ph.D programme run by the Advanced Metallics Centre for Doctoral Training jointly managed by the University of Manchester and Sheffield University.My project focus was on the Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) of cobalt-free stainless steel alloys designed for hardfacing applications in Pressurised Water Reactors. I developed an understanding of the micro-structural evolution of these alloys as a result of undergoing a HIP cycle. This allows us to better understand how these changes influence the wear resistance of these alloys and pave the way for the introduction of replacement cobalt-free components for PWR plants in the future. This project was sponsored by Rolls-Royce.During the course of this project, I trained to use several techniques, some of which are summarised below:- Scanning Electron Microscopy where I have received training on a range of FEG and W-filament SEMs along with the acquisition and processing of high resolution Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) datasets.- Laboratory X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Synchrotron XRD experience, predominantly carrying out Rietveld phase fraction analysis using TOPAS on a range of samples. - Transmission Electron Microscopy to produce bright field and dark field images, diffraction pattern analysis, and STEM-EDS. I am also exploring more advanced techniques such as electron diffraction tomography coupled with beam precession to reconstruct three-dimensional crystallographic structures.I have been asked to present my research on several occasions where I have received two awards for best presentation at conference events. I was also a teaching assistant at the UoM and have taught undergraduates in several classes ranging from crystallography through to mechanical testing. I also spent time working on outreach events, such as the Ultimate Car Challenge where I was an ambassador to a local school who had to build a Scalextric race car.

Manchester, School Of Materials

- Teaching assistant and laboratory demonstrator for first year classes including teaching crystallography and running tests using the charpy impact tester to demonstrate the ductile to brittle transition in steels.- Demonstrated the concepts of X-ray diffraction to first year students and provided assistance during tutorial sessions.- Assisted during metallographic preparation classes providing sample preparation and optical microscopy training to first year students.- Marked first year crystallography coursework.

Barrow-In-Furness

- Development and production of safety case bid work.- Assessment and management of engineering change requests.- Management of nuclear safety bids/site management and liaison with reactor build teams.

Barrow-In-Furness

Experience with placements lasting 3 to 5 months in: Operations, Project Management, Engineering and Testing & Commissioning.

Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Materials Science

PhD project entitled: Assessment of Co-free hardfacing stainless steel alloys for nuclear applications.

Master’S Degree, Aerospace Engineering, Commendation

Activities and Societies: Student Ambassador, Lecturer- Masters in Aerospace Engineering (Hons.) with Commendation. - Taught weekly.