Hydrogen embrittlement into steel, which was implicated in the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and countless other structural failures affecting aviation, shipping, construction and energy production, was first identified in 1875 and has been a focus of international research, but no solution has emerged. If it diffuses its way into steel during the manufacturing process or through corrosion, the steel becomes brittle. Strangely, the stronger the steel, the more likely it is to eventually suffer from HE. The question is, what does hydrogen do to the atomic structures of the susceptible metals? The answer could come through an exquisitely precise technology called atom probe tomography and the work of Ms Julie Cairney who is a professor in the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering at the University and Director of the Australian Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis. In effect, Cairney and her team of PhD students and early career researchers are explorers of the impossibly small worlds that have been opened up by advances in microscope technology. She observes the behaviour of actual atoms, with atom probe tomography allowing the creation of 3D images of clusters of atoms and how they connect with each other, including where hydrogen atoms might rest destructively in the atomic structure of steel. Looking at the 3D image, Cairney’s team saw something unexpected. They saw magnesium. What Cairney’s team discovered was magnesium discretely trimming the rods. The rods themselves are only 20 nanometres long, so maybe it’s not so surprising that such a tiny amount of magnesium was missed. With this insight, researchers can now think differently about the pathways that cause decay and how to regenerate it. This list is not unlike the questions around the current steel project which has a particular relevance for Cairney, who has a background in the science of metallurgy.Professor Cairney offers her expertise in the three-dimensional mapping of atoms through the University's core research facility: Sydney Microscopy & Microanalysis.
Hydrogen embrittlement into steel, which was implicated in the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and countless other structural failures affecting aviation, shipping, construction and energy production, was first identified in 1875 and has been a focus of international research, but no solution has emerged. If it diffuses its way into steel during the manufacturing process or through corrosion, the steel becomes brittle. Strangely, the stronger the steel, the more likely it is to eventually suffer from HE. The question is, what does hydrogen do to the atomic structures of the susceptible metals? The answer could come through an exquisitely precise technology called atom probe tomography and the work of Ms Julie Cairney who is a professor in the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering at the University and Director of the Australian Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis. In effect, Cairney and her team of PhD students and early career researchers are explorers of the impossibly small worlds that have been opened up by advances in microscope technology. She observes the behaviour of actual atoms, with atom probe tomography allowing the creation of 3D images of clusters of atoms and how they connect with each other, including where hydrogen atoms might rest destructively in the atomic structure of steel. Looking at the 3D image, Cairney’s team saw something unexpected. They saw magnesium. What Cairney’s team discovered was magnesium discretely trimming the rods. The rods themselves are only 20 nanometres long, so maybe it’s not so surprising that such a tiny amount of magnesium was missed. With this insight, researchers can now think differently about the pathways that cause decay and how to regenerate it. This list is not unlike the questions around the current steel project which has a particular relevance for Cairney, who has a background in the science of metallurgy.Professor Cairney offers her expertise in the three-dimensional mapping of atoms through the University's core research facility: Sydney Microscopy & Microanalysis.