Heather Chichester

Profile Information
Name
Heather Chichester
Institution
Idaho National Laboratory
Publications:
"Relationship between lath boundary structure and radiation induced segregation in a neutron irradiated 9wt.% Cr model ferritic/martensitic steel" Todd Allen, Heather Chichester, Kevin Field, Brandon Miller, Kumar Sridharan, Journal of Nuclear Materials Vol. 445 2013 143-148 Link
Ferritic/Martensitic (F/M) steels with high Cr content posses the high temperature strength and low swelling rates required for advanced nuclear reactor designs. Radiation induced segregation (RIS) occurs in F/M steels due to solute atoms preferentially coupling to point defect fluxes which migrate to defect sinks, such as grain boundaries (GBs). The RIS response of F/M steels and austenitic steels has been shown to be dependent on the local structure of GBs where low energy structures have suppressed RIS responses. This relationship between local GB structure and RIS has been demonstrated primarily in ion-irradiated specimens. A 9 wt.% Cr model alloy steel was irradiated to 3 dpa using neutrons at the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) to determine the effect of a neutron radiation environment on the RIS response at different GB structures. This investigation found the relationship between GB structure and RIS is also active for F/M steels irradiated using neutrons. The data generated from the neutron irradiation is also compared to RIS data generated using proton irradiations on the same heat of model alloy.
Presentations:
"Use of Silicon Carbide Monitors in ATR Irradiation Testing" Heather Chichester, Joy Rempe, Troy Unruh, 8th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human Machine Interface Technologies July 22-26, (2012)
"Use of Silicon Carbide Monitors in ATR Irradiation Testing" Heather Chichester, Troy Unruh, ANS July 24-28, (2012)
NSUF Articles:
NSUF Researcher Feature: Kumar Sridharan - Learn more about a University of Wisconsin professor who helped kick start NSUF Sridharan's research team put the NSUF's first material samples into the ATR, launching a new era of research into the behaviors of fuels and materials in a nuclear reactor environment. Wednesday, August 28, 2019 - Newsletter, Researcher Highlight