In a multidisciplinary effort between Dr. Harry Millwater, Dr. Brendy C. Rincon T., and Dr. Arturo Montoya (all affiliated to UTSA), the probability risk of dry canisters for storage of nuclear waste will be evaluated. This topic is of paramount importance to ensure human and environmental protection from the irreversible effects that a nuclear waste spill could create if appropriate material selection and design based on informed decisions is not put in practice. For this purpose, the scholars will develop a methodology to evaluate the risk of environmentally assisted cracking in nuclear facilities through testing and modeling. Concomitantly, an educational program focused on the fundamentals of corrosion, fracture mechanics and probabilistic risk assessment with applications to nuclear safety issues will be developed and the research based knowledge will be disseminated.
October, 2016