UROP Project

Hydrogen Embrittlement of Structural Materials for Fusion Energy Applications

Fusion energy; Materials characterization; Mechanical properties;

Research Mentor: Junliang Liu,
Department, College, Affiliation: Materials Science and Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Contact Email: jliu@eng.famu.fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable

Project Description

Future fusion reactors will expose structural and plasma-facing materials to extreme conditions, including high temperatures, neutron irradiation, mechanical stresses, and hydrogen isotopes such as deuterium and tritium. Hydrogen can enter these materials and interact with defects, grain boundaries, and precipitates. These interactions may reduce ductility, promote cracking, and cause premature failure—a phenomenon known as hydrogen embrittlement.

This undergraduate research project will investigate hydrogen behavior and its effects on candidate materials for fusion applications, with an initial focus on the vanadium alloys. The student will study how hydrogen exposure changes the material’s microstructure and mechanical properties. Depending on progress and instrument availability, the work may include sample preparation, hydrogen charging or exposure, heat treatment, microscopy and hardness or nanoindentation testing. The project will help establish relationships among processing conditions, hydrogen retention, microstructure, and material degradation.

Research Tasks: 1. Conduct a literature review on hydrogen embrittlement and hydrogen-isotope retention in metals and alloys.
2. Identify important mechanisms of hydrogen absorption, diffusion, trapping, and release in metals and alloys.
3. Prepare metallographic samples through cutting, mounting, grinding, and polishing.
4. Assist with hydrogen charging or controlled hydrogen-exposure experiments.
5. Perform heat treatments to investigate hydrogen diffusion and trapping.
6. Characterize samples using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.
7. Measure changes in hardness or other mechanical properties after hydrogen exposure.
8. Process experimental data and prepare figures, presentations, and research reports.
9. Present research progress at group meetings and, when appropriate, at the UROP Research Symposium.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: 1. Basic knowledge of chemistry, physics, or engineering materials.
2. Basic computer skills for data organization and analysis.
3. Ability to work independently while communicating regularly with the research team.
4. Experience with MATLAB, Python, Origin, microscopy, metallographic sample preparation is helpful but not required.