Advanced Materials for Applications in Extreme Environments

Symposium Q, “Structural Materials and Fuels for Future Fusion and Fission Technologies,” Symposium R, “Radiation Damage to Ceramic and Insulating Materials for Nuclear Power,” and Symposium T, “Nanostructured Materials in Harsh Environments,” were held Nov. 29–Dec. 3 at the 2010 MRS Fall Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. The underlying theme behind the papers is that of materials for next-generation technologies, especially fusion and fission energy production and the nanoscale properties of these materials when subjected to high temperature and pressure. In many cases, joint experimental and modeling programs to minimize expensive trial-and-error techniques are underway to understand the fundamental processes that are at the basis of the materials. This combined approach is optimal to design novel new materials that can withstand the higher operating temperature, high radiation doses, and complex thermomechanical loading required in the next-generation nuclear systems. This volume highlights some emerging topics in novel mechanical testing techniques, in situ microscopy, high- and low-temperature deformation mechanisms, radiation damage investigations and mechanical property characterization of materials, as well as recent advances in atomistic and multiscale modeling.