Predicting clad defect propagation of Zr-based alloys under oxidising conditions during dry fuel store

About the Project

This PhD is embedded within a uniquely collaborative environment that brings together two of the UKs strongest nuclear materials teams, both based at the University of Manchester: the Zr Group and the Nuclear Fuel Centre of Excellence. Working across both groups, you will benefit from a combined expertise base spanning fuel materials, cladding behaviour, and advanced characterisation, offering a genuinely interdisciplinary research experience. Based at the Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials, you will collaborate closely with leading academic and industrial partners across the UK and internationally. The project is supported by EDF UK, a key organisation in the nuclear energy sector, providing industrial supervision, hands on experience, and opportunities to attend conferences and technical meetings both within the UK and overseas.

About Your Project:

After removal from a reactor, spent nuclear fuel is eventually transferred to dry storage, where it may remain for decades. Ensuring the integrity of the zirconium alloy cladding during this period is critical, particularly in rare accident scenarios where a canister breach could expose the fuel to an oxidising atmosphere. If small defects, such as pinholes or hairline cracks, are already present, air ingress can oxidise the fuel, causing it to swell and place additional stress on the cladding, potentially driving further crack growth. This project will investigate how these defects propagate under oxidising conditions by studying both fuel oxidation (UO₂ to U₃O₈) and cladding response. It will assess how factors such as defect size, temperature, and irradiation simulated hardening influence crack initiation and propagation in Zr based alloys.

Key Research Questions

1. How does the fuel swell when it oxidises, and how much extra stress does this place on the cladding?
2. How do small defects in the cladding grow under stress in oxidising dry storage conditions?
3. How do factors like defect size, temperature, and simulated irradiation-hardening affect when cracks start and how fast they propagate?

As part of this project, you will be based in state-of-the-art nuclear laboratories within the Henry Royce Institute utilising advanced materials characterisation techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD).

- Henry Royce Institute Nuclear Facilities

What We Offer

During your PhD, you will:

• Join the Zr and Fuels Group, working alongside experts in nuclear materials while learning cutting-edge experimental and characterisation techniques
• Present your work at local and international conferences
• Deliver your research directly to engineers working on real world problems within the nuclear sector.
• Have the opportunity to pursue placement at EDF Energy.
• Benefit from world-leading training in nuclear science and technology, accessible through a 12 week nuclear bootcamp taught course.

Rewards:

• Strong mentorship and a supportive team—you’ll never feel stuck
• Flexible and hybrid working options
• Competitive, tax-free stipend
• Opportunities for international collaboration and travel
• Develop a range of transferable skills: presentation, leadership, organisation, mentoring
• Join a group with 100% graduate employability, with alumni taking roles in universities, industry, national labs, and research facilities worldwide

Eligibility

Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2.1 honours degree or a master’s (or international equivalent) in a relevant science or engineering related discipline.

Funding

This 4-year PhD studentship is open to Home (UK) and overseas students. The successful candidate will receive an annual tax-free stipend set at the UKRI rate (£20,780 for 2025/26; subject to annual uplift), and tuition fees will be paid. We expect the stipend to increase each year. The start date is October 2026.

We recommend that you apply early as the advert may be removed before the deadline.

Before you apply

We strongly recommend that you contact the supervisor(s) for this project before you apply. Please include details of your current level of study, academic background and any relevant experience and include a paragraph about your motivation to study this PhD project.

How to apply

Apply online through our website: https://uom.link/pgr-apply-2425

When applying, you’ll need to specify the full name of this project, the name of your supervisor, if you already having funding or if you wish to be considered for available funding through the university, details of your previous study, and names and contact details of two referees.

Your application will not be processed without all of the required documents submitted at the time of application, and we cannot accept responsibility for late or missed deadlines. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

After you have applied you will be asked to upload the following supporting documents:

• Final Transcript and certificates of all awarded university level qualifications
• Interim Transcript of any university level qualifications in progress
• CV
• Supporting statement: A one or two page statement outlining your motivation to pursue postgraduate research and why you want to undertake postgraduate research at Manchester, any relevant research or work experience, the key findings of your previous research experience, and techniques and skills you’ve developed. (This is mandatory for all applicants and the application will be put on hold without it).
• Contact details for two referees (please make sure that the contact email you provide is an official university/work email address as we may need to verify the reference)
• English Language certificate (if applicable)

If you have any questions about making an application, please contact our admissions team by emailing FSE.doctoralacademy.admissions@manchester.ac.uk.