A nuclear warhead contains a vast range of exotic and contrasting materials – including metals, inorganic salts, rubbers, foams, adhesives, high explosives and radioactive substances. Many of these materials have unique handling issues, and AWE’s dedicated facilities ensure a safe and secure environment to undertake research.
With actual testing no longer possible, our Materials Science team is working to further understand the underlying phenomena of the behaviour of materials, to predict what changes to expect and to define the extent of necessary remediation. Materials Science is particularly important in determining warhead component life-span and support requirements.
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The Materials Science group at AWE provides chemistry and materials science expertise in a number of areas, including:
- high explosives research and analysis
- plutonium and uranium chemistry & metallurgy
- non-metallic materials (organic and inorganic)
- radiochemistry, mass spectrometry and spectroscopy
- actinide chemistry and analysis
The group also supports materials research and development across all areas of Warhead Systems and Components:
- in-service surveillance
- production
- life prediction
- capability maintenance
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Many research briefs exist, and include topics as varied as:
- affect on materials through age
- development and operation of unique analytical capabilities
- fundamental research and modelling
- replacement and novel materials
- component performance
Materials Science at AWE places great importance on fostering links with external organisations, and collaborations are in place with both industrial and academic institutes across the globe. Strong links exist with a number of UK universities through sponsorship of PhD and post-doctoral research. These contracts provide valuable support to internal programmes and allows discussion with leading academic players in a variety of disciplines.