Stellar mergers and explosions create the heavy elements we see in the entire visible Universe. Supernovae come from the deaths of massive stars and (at least some) from the merger of white dwarfs. While stars evolve over millions or billions of years, a supernova explosion happens in seconds and the glowing remnant lasts for years. We aim to understand how these explosions happen and how they create the neutron stars, pulsars and black holes in our galaxy. But we have recently seen that even when a neutron star is formed after the brief live of a massive star, that is not the end of the stars explosive existence. If they come in close binary pairs then they can merge, with spectacular results. In 2017 a breakthrough discovery was made when the first electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational wave source was found. Termed a 'kilonova', this was the result of a pair of merging neutron stars and the optical and infrared light arose from the radioactive decay of heavy elements (which we call r-process elements). These elements are heavier than iron and such neutron star mergers may be responsible for all these heavy elements. Our projects will find more of these, and the combination of gravitational waves and electromagnetic signals opens up a new window on the Universe.

This project is concerned with the design and testing of new Zr alloys for potential use in future fusion reactors. It is incorporated into the EPSRC Fusion Centre for Doctoral Training and will also contribute to the EPSRC programme grant on Zr alloys EP/S01702X/1. Because of their good corrosion resistance and low neutron capture cross section, Zr alloys were considered for applications in breeder blanket designs some 20 years ago, and with the renaissance of interest in small fusion reactors in the UK are again being considered as possible materials for the UKAEA STEP programme. In the intervening period, a number of new Zr alloys have been developed for the environment of fusion reactors that could be assessed for higher temperature fusion applications, and there are several other binary Zr alloys systems that could be explored ab initio. The project is divided into three main work packages. The first is the preparation and characterisation of a range of new Zr alloys, most of which have hardly been studied at all in previous literature. We have selected the Zr-Mo, Zr-Y, Zr-Al and Zr-V binary systems for immediate study because they offer the opportunity for metallurgical stability and so operation, at much higher temperatures than the conventional Zr-Nb or Zr-Sn fusion alloys. Other novel alloys systems can be added as appropriate during the project. These alloys will be cast and metallurgically processed by hot and cold rolling and heat treatments to give stable microstructures, characterised with analytical SEM and XRD, and the mechanical properties assessed as a function of temperature with micro-hardness, nano-indentation and small punch testing. The second work package is to assess the corrosion resistance of these new alloys, and compare this to the performance of conventional fission alloys. High temperature water corrosion will be undertaken in autoclave facilities in the University of Manchester, and corrosion in liquid Li or PbLi alloys will be carried out in new facilities in Oxford. The third work package is to study the radiation resistance of one or two of the most promising of these alloys based on the results of the first two work packages. Initially we will use proxy irradiation with light and heavy ions at the Dalton Cumbrian Facility to study microstructural modification and possible embrittlement processes at high damage levels. Later on in the project we plan to use the new national neutron source at Birmingham University to generate neutron damage, and the National Nuclear User Facilities on the Culham Campus (the Materials Research Facility) to study the mechanical properties of these radioactive samples. The aim of the project is to identify one or two of the most promising alloy systems to recommend for further development as potential fusion materials. The novelty of the project lies in the exploration of the performance of some promising, but so far almost completely ignored, Zr alloy systems specifically for the conditions they will need to survive in fusion reactors. The project falls within the EPSRC Energy Theme; Research areas - Nuclear Fission and Magnetic Confinement Fusion Research Programme.

Project Description The structural design of a control surface affects temperature distribution and warping, which change the aerodynamic performance, therefore, the methodology to design such surfaces becomes vital for the controllability of hypersonic vehicles, where the flow physics, thermal environment, and structural behaviour are all coupled [1]. These three coupled interactions are difficult to model and hard to effectively design optimised geometries for. In hypersonic flows, temperatures inside the boundary layer and close to the surface of a vehicle (wall temperature) are relatively high, therefore, the surface warps and deforms. This in turn changes the surrounding flow physics, such as shock structure and heating, and so on. The project aims to develop understanding of this fluid-thermal-structural coupling for control surface applications. Additionally, the project addresses the design and testing methodology of a hypersonic fin while considering coupled aerodynamics with thermal-structural constraints. This project falls within the EPSRC Continuum Mechanics, Fluid Dynamics and Aerodynamics, and Engineering Design research areas. A scaled fin model will be experimentally tested in the Oxford High Density Tunnel at Mach 5 using different angles of attack to determine relevant boundary conditions. The surface heat flux and pressure distributions will be measured with thermography, pressure sensitive paint, and surface-mounted sensors, while Schlieren imaging will visualise the flowfield. These measured distributions will be used as boundary conditions in a thermal-mechanical simulation, leading to an optimised internal architecture to be used for the fin test subject that will be subsequently manufactured. The resulting fin-surface temperature distribution is used to determine the flight-equivalent wall-to-total temperature ratio, which will be vital to use as a similarity parameter for experimental testing, alongside flight-equivalent Reynolds number. The wall-to-total temperature ratio and the resulting thermal gradient within the boundary layer have been shown to impact the transition process [2]. In a subsequent experimental test campaign, this ratio is realised by locally cooling the fin model with liquid nitrogen from the inside. To achieve the precise wall temperature at the different points along the test subject surface, necessary for maintaining a flight-equivalent wall-to-total temperature ratio, the wall thickness will be varied to change the cooling rates accordingly. This enables coupling between temperature and velocity boundary layers, to study the aerodynamic performance (lift, drag, flowfield structure). This in-the-loop approach can be iterated until a best fin design is found. The project looks to further understanding of fluid-thermal-structural coupling for hypersonic control surface applications and addresses the need for an integrated design methodology of hypersonic vehicle components, aiming to demonstrate that capability through new experimental and simulation-based procedures. [1] J. D. Anderson, Hypersonic and High-Temperature Gas Dynamics, Third Edition. 2019. [2] T. Hermann, M. Mcgilvray, C. Hambidge, and L. Doherty, "TOTAL TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENTS IN THE OXFORD HIGH DENSITY TUNNEL Oxford OX2 0ES, United Kingdom D . Buttsworth School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, University of Southern Queensland."

The sequencing of the human genome was a tremendous feat whose impact is beginning to be felt in the development of new therapies. However, the end of sequencing also marked the beginning of a long journey of discovery. We still need to understand how the different elements of our genomes make us more or less susceptible to diseases, and how our genome makes us different from other animals, including the chimpanzee. To help us on this journey, the genome sequences of many humans and of other animals have been, and will be, sequenced. Layered onto these genomes is functional information that can reveal the genetic switches that distinguish one cell type from another. In our genomic investigations we will often find things that are surprising, and will give us a better understanding of the large amount of functional DNA which, because it doesn’t make protein, we have previously considered ‘junk’. At the end of this journey we will have traversed the entire human genome -- 3 billion letters of it -- and pinpointed the DNA that, when changed, cause disease or else make us different from our evolutionary cousins.