Development of an in situ neutron-scattering facility for research and education in the mechanical behavior of materials

The present work is to establish a suite of instruments for studying the mechanical behavior of advanced materials using in situ neutron-scattering at the impending Spallation Neutron Source (SNS, The Oak Ridge National Laboratory), which will provide the most intense pulsed-neutron source in the world. The state-of-the-art in situ and real-time characterization instrumentation will be developed for VULCAN at SNS. The VULCAN diffractometer is designed to conduct fundamental studies in materials science and engineering with a focus on the mechanical behavior. The instrumentation described here will enable VULCAN to fulfill its full potential. The characterization capabilities to be developed will far surpass anything else available in the world. The simultaneous neutron diffraction and small-angle neutron-scattering (SANS) during mechanical testing will have a tremendous impact on the fundamental understanding of the mechanical behavior of materials. The successful development of the present instrumentation will give materials scientists many new and valuable capabilities for the fundamental study of advanced materials with complex multi-phase/-scale microstructures and various sizes/types (1) under large static/dynamic mechanical loads (including tension, compression, and torsion, i.e., real-world conditions), (2) at high temperatures, and/or (3) under chemical environments. Moreover, such capabilities will allow engineers to probe the behavior of materials and components under realistic operating and processing conditions.