Title:

Insights from Atomistic Simulations on Molten Salt Corrosion of Structural Alloys

Speaker:

Dr. Yongfeng Zhang

Affiliation:

Associate Chair for Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics at University of Wisconsin-Madison

When:

Thursday, October 17, 2024 at 11:00:00 AM   Add to Calendar

Where:

Boggs Building, Room 3-47

Host:

Steven Biegalski
Steven.biegalski@me.gatech.edu

Abstract

Molten salts are promising for numerous energy applications, including the electrolytes, thermal energy storage, and transfer media in batteries, fuel cells and solar cells, pyro-processing of spent nuclear fuels, and the coolant and/or fuel solvent in molten salt reactors. These applications share a common material challenge - corrosion of structural alloys, which are often stainless steels or Ni-Cr based alloys. The technological relevance and scientific merits make it an imperative task to achieve a mechanistic understanding of how molten salts interact with metals, which is urgently needed for developing corrosion resistant structural materials. This talk discusses the role of atomistic simulations in studying molten salt corrosion, including computing structural, thermophysical, and kinetic properties of salts, understanding salt-metal interactions, and extracting basic corrosion mechanisms. As two examples, we will show the applications of ab initio molecular dynamics AIMD simulations to investigate the behavior of water molecule and its interaction with FeCr alloy in molten salts and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations to investigate corrosion induced surface morphology evolution in NiCr alloys.

Biography

Dr. Yongfeng Zhang is an assistant professor and the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to that he was a staff scientist at Idaho National Laboratory, where he led the Computational Microstructure Science Group. His research focuses on multiscale modeling and simulation of materials behavior in extreme environments, including radiation effects, corrosion, and deformation, for the purposes of making scientific discoveries and developing mechanistic material models for nuclear materials. His research outcome has featured over 100 peer-reviewed publications, with an h-index of 31. He has served as the vice Chair, the Chair, and currently the JOM publication advisor of TMS Nuclear Materials Committee and is an associated editor of the journal Frontiers in Materials.

Notes

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