Group Members

Dr. Pedro Peralta Pedro Peralta received his B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Universidad Simón Bolívar (Caracas, Venezuela) in 1989, his M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics in 1994 and his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering in 1996, both from the University of Pennsylvania. From 1996 to 1998 he was a Director Funded Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Materials Science at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). In 1998 he joined the faculty in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at Arizona State University (ASU). He is currently a Professor of Mechanical, Aerospace and Materials Engineering at ASU and a visiting scientist in the Materials Science and Technology Division at LANL. His research focuses on experiments and modeling of microstructure effects on shock loading, fatigue and creep of metals and ceramics. Prof. Peralta received an NSF CAREER award in 2000 for research on fatigue crack propagation and the Orr award from ASME in 2005 for best paper on fatigue and fracture in the Journal of Engineering Materials and Technology. He is a member of ASME, TMS and USACM.

Six members of Pedro Peralta's lab

 

Karin RudmanKarin Rudman
Education:
 BS in Materials Science Engineering with emphasis on Ceramics, Universidad Simon Bolivar, Venezuela; Ms in Materials Science Engineering, Universidad Simon Bolivar, Venezuela; PhD student in Materials Science Engineering, Arizona State University .
Research Interests: Ms. Rudman’s research is focused on characterization of ceramic materials; with a broad range of applications that includes: archeology, art restoration, biomaterials for cancer research, solid state ionic conductors and currently, oxide nuclear fuels.
Current Research Activities: At present, we are working in conjunction with Los National Laboratory in order to establish relationships between grain boundary (GB) crystallography and manufacturing conditions. Serial sectioning data, obtained from mechanical polishing and focused ion beam milling, are being used to obtain 3-D reconstructions of the microstructure of d-UO2 samples, in order to fully characterize the GBs. Samples manufactured under different sintering conditions, including variations on the oxygen content are under study. The obtained data can be used in finite element model in order to study how the GB network behavior can change depending on the fuel’s initial microstructure.

Andrew BrownAndrew Brown is currently a PhD candidate in mechanical engineering at Arizona State University and has been a part of the MMCMM group since May 2010 where his work focuses on 3-D characterization of microstructural weak links for spall damage in shock loaded copper multi- and polycrystals. Work on this topic has been presented at the 2011 and 2012 TMS Annual Meetings, the 2013 Western Regional Strain Gage Committee, and currently has a submitted conference manuscript for the upcoming ASME 2013 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition in San Diego, CA. Andrew participated in the 15th National School on Neutron and X-Ray Scattering where he conducted experiments at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Lab as well as the Spallation Neutron Source and High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Labs. Andrew graduated cum laude with a B.S. in mechanical engineering at North Carolina State University and a minor in physics. While at NC State, he worked in the Nanoscale Tribology Lab, directed by Dr. Jacqueline Krim, from June 2008 to May 2010 on two separate projects utilizing quartz crystal microbalances: 1) investigating friction and cohesion of polystyrene microspheres under shear, and, 2) surface adsorption of gasoline fuel additives in heptane solution. Andrew is also obsessed with a fan of the Carolina Panthers.

Lim HarnHarn Chyi Lim completed his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Engineering in University of California, Irvine in 2008. He started his graduate work at ASU in 2010 working toward his Ph.D degree in Materials Science Engineering. His research focuses on microstructure characterization of uranium oxide as well as 3-D finite element simulation to study the fission product diffusion within the nuclear fuel elements.

 

Jay PatelJay Patel is a graduate student pursuing his PhD in mechanical engineering at Arizona State University. His current research is about strain field measurement inside the kink bands under 3-point bending of Polymer Matrix Composites with Digital Image Correlation. Mr. Patel is a graduate with Master of Aerospace Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University located in Daytona Beach, Florida (2010). He also received his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering with specialization in I.C. Engines and Automobiles from L.D. College of Engineering, Ahmedabad, India affiliated with Gujarat University (2007).

Robert McDonaldRobert McDonald is currently in his second year of the materials science and engineering M.S. program at ASU. In 2012, he earned his bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering from Arizona State University. Robert has been a part of the MMCMM group since 2010, where his primary area of research has been focused on analyzing UO2 microstructures for nuclear fuel applications. Robert’s undergraduate work was presented via poster at the TMS 2012 Annual Meeting. For his poster, titled “Porosity Characterization of Surrogates for Oxide Nuclear Fuels: A Statistical Analysis of Correlations among Grain Boundary Misorientation, Pore Character and Location,” Robert received the 2012 Fuel Cycle Student Innovator award from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fuel Cycle Technologies. Robert’s M.S. thesis project is focused on characterizing mechanical properties at high temperatures in UO2 samples doped with various oxide compounds. His research goals are to determine which compounds positively influence the mechanical performance of UO2 in the temperature range analogous to what is seen in a typical nuclear reactor.