Research Projects in Materials Science and Engineering

Principal Investigator: M. Misra

Templated growth of carbon nanotube arrays using nanostructured porous Anodic Aluminum Oxide (AAO) templates. (Co-PI with Dr. J. LaCombe)
Materials reliability is of paramount importance to the long-term operation of the nuclear waste repository. In 2002, a peer review panel evaluated the performance of waste package materials proposed for the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. In their final report, the panel expressed concerns that the current waste package container (WPC) design is based on an insufficient amount of materials and reliability data. Implementation of data generated through systematic materials performance and reliability research in the WPC design and fabrication will result in very cost effective installation and subsequent operation of the nuclear waste repository. In recent years, the University of Nevada, Reno has developed significant capabilities in Materials Science and Engineering, and has been involved in nuclear waste repository materials research. Not only do the proposed research programs focus on fundamental materials science and engineering, but they also involve allied engineering concepts used to address materials degradation, design, and analytical modeling of system components. The proposed research program will organize work in multidisciplinary areas, focusing primarily on materials research, but will also consider other factors affecting materials performance and alternative materials. The project will have four major research tasks: Task 1) Materials Evaluation; Task 2) Fundamental Studies on Degradation Mechanisms; Task 3) Alternate Materials and Design; Task 4) Computational and Analytical Modeling. [DOE]

Nuclear Waste Repository Materials
This study focuses on the processing methods for template formation and electrodeposition methods. [Industry and DOE]

Development of New Reagent for Dolomite Flotation. (Co-PI with Dr. M. Fuerstenau, and T. Bell)
The United States is the largest producer of phosphate rock in the world, which corresponds to 30% of the world production. Florida accounts for 80% of the U.S. phosphate production. During the past century, the Florida phosphate industry has produced high quality phosphate with low MgO (< 0.5%). As low dolomite phosphate reserves become exhausted, the remaining deposits contain lower amounts of phosphate with significantly higher dolomite (MgO) content. It is generally difficult to obtain a phosphate concentrate from such materials containing less than the desired MgO content of 1% MgO. The objective of this research work is to evaluate the effectiveness of new synthesized collectors for the selective flotation of dolomite from phosphate rock. The experimentation will include evaluating the applicability of the new collectors through microflotation, electrokinetic adsorption studies. Experimental work on the flotation of actual dolomite phosphate ores from Florida, Utah, and Idaho will be conducted using the new collectors. [DOE]