A.H. Cottrell at Harwell in the mid-1950s

Abstract

A.H. Cottrell led a large team of scientists and engineers as Deputy Director of the Metallurgy Division of the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell, between 1955 and 1958. The team sought to develop a fundamental understanding of the effect of aggressive operating conditions on the properties and behaviour of materials used in the construction of reactors, which provided important and critical insights into their design, operation and safety. The story is told through the experiences and research activities of one of Cottrell’s junior research staff. It offers an insight into the contributions made by Cottrell to the science and technology regarding materials used in the early days of building reactors for the generation of nuclear energy.

Keywords:

• nuclear energy
• reactors
• uranium fuel elements
• irradiation damage
• dislocations
• point defects
• creep
• Wigner energy
• brittle fracture
• cracks
• grain boundaries
• fatigue
• defects

Acknowledgements

It is a pleasure to thank Andrew Hull, David Bacon and Richard Taylor for helping me prepare this paper.