Scott Riley is a third year PhD student in the Advanced Materials Laboratory. After completing his B.S. in Chemistry at UCSD, he decided pursue a PhD in materials science and engineering to learn more about the underlying theory governing the properties of materials.
Scott is currently working on a project in collaboration with Idaho National Laboratory (INL). INL has developed high-temperature, irradiation-resistant thermocouples (HTIR-TCs), with the goal to measure in-situ temperature of nuclear reactors. The thermocouples are made of phosphorous-doped niobium and lanthana-doped molybdenum thermoelements, an alumina insulation, and a niobium sheath. Niobium, molybdenum, and their alloys are often considered for applications in extreme environments where corrosion resistance and high temperatures are required. Prior to operation, the thermocouples undergo a preliminary heat treatment (above the maximum service temperature) in order to stabilize the emf signal. Scott is working to identify the optimum heat treatment for stabilizing the thermocouples. He evaluates the effects of the stabilization heat treatments on the mechanical properties, microstructure, and chemical stability of the thermocouples through three point bend tests, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), 4 point-probe measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD).