Professor Enrique Jimenez-Melero PhD

• PhD in Inorganic Chemistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain, 2005. Thesis title: Structural and magnetic characterization of RCrO₄ oxides (R = rare earth).
• MSc in Materials Chemistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain, 2000.
• BSc in Chemistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain, 1998.

Enrique Jimenez-Melero received his MSc degree (first class) in Materials Chemistry in 2000, from the Universidad Complutense of Madrid in Spain. After that, he pursued a PhD (2000-2005) in rare earth-based magnetic oxides at the Department of Inorganic Chemistry of the same university. In particular, he synthesized the complete family of RCrO₄ oxides (R = rare earth) with zircon and monazite-type crystal structures, where chromium is present in its less stable oxidation state of Cr⁵⁺.

He then studied the complexity of Cr⁵⁺-R³⁺ magnetic interactions and magnetic anisotropy below 30 K, and the interplay between crystallographic and magnetic phase transformations. For this purpose, he employed a palette of radiation-based experimental techniques ranging from neutron diffraction (supported by group theory) to determine magnetic structures, to rare earth Mössbauer spectroscopy and muon spin rotation to assess local magnetic moments and fluctuations, and 3-D neutron depolarization to study magnetic domain structures.

He then joined the Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands) where, as a research fellow, studied the phase transformations and deformation mechanisms in low-alloyed TRIP steels for automotive applications, by performing in-situ (grain-resolved) 3-D micro-diffraction experiments in very fine, poly-crystalline steel microstructures using hard (> 50 keV) synchrotron X-rays. He also took the opportunity to receive the national Dutch training in radiation protection at the Delft Reactor Institute.

In 2012, he joined the Dept. Materials of the University of Manchester as lecturer in radiation materials science. In this role, he led the development of sample environments and experimental protocols at the Dalton Cumbrian Facility for irradiating nuclear materials using intense high-energy ion beams as a surrogate of neutron damage. He went on to establish the ‘High Temperature Nuclear Alloys’ research group, focussing on the radiation tolerance and structural integrity of nuclear fusion/fission steels and refractory alloys. His research portfolio included nuclear case studies such as:

• (i) in-situ monitoring the radiation-induced lattice defect evolution and elemental nanoscale segregation in tungsten alloys for first wall fusion reactor applications and in austenitic steel claddings of UK advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs).
• (ii) atomically-resolved interfacial characterization and stability under irradiation of nano-sized precipitates in low-activation vanadium alloys for fusion technologies
• (iii) friction stir welding and mechanics of Oxide-Dispersion-Strengthened (ODS) steels
• (iv) high-temperature oxidation & carburization, and their impact on thermal creep performance, of stainless steel superheaters in gas-cooled fission power plants.

Enrique joined the School of Metallurgy and Materials at the University of Birmingham in January 2024 as UKAEA Joint Chair in Materials for Fusion.

Coordinator of the ‘Materials in Fusion Energy MRes’ programme.

If you are enthusiastic about nuclear fusion technologies and are interested in fusion materials research, or you pursue a career in nuclear or in metallurgy, please get in contact by email.

Nuclear materials research

• Radiation damage phenomena in structural materials for nuclear fusion tokamaks (first wall, breeder, divertor materials)
• Plasma-facing materials and plasma-material interactions
• Micro-mechanics of advanced fusion steels and engineering alloys with high melting points
• Corrosion in molten salts, liquid metals, and high-temperature oxidation and carburization of Fe- and Ni-base alloys
• Thermal and irradiation creep of high-temperature alloys
• Radiation-induced segregation and sensitization of stainless steels
• Long-term structural integrity of key engineering materials and components for nuclear reactor systems
• Thermo-mechanical processing of metallic materials for enhanced radiation tolerance and mechanical performance
• Nano-scale precipitation and stability in Cu-base alloys for high heat flux applications
• Environmental degradation of additive manufactured materials and components

Technique-oriented research

• Hard synchrotron X-ray and neutron scattering to characterise phase transformations, deformation mechanisms and precipitate distributions in complex structural alloys
• Development of sample environments for accelerated testing of nuclear materials
• In-situ characterization of the microstructure evolution in nuclear materials under irradiation, thermal and mechanical loads
• Probing lattice defects using positron techniques
• Ion beam analysis of light element distributions in metals

Awards

2009-2011: Veni Post-doctoral Fellowship within the framework of the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme (Vernieuwingsimpuls), funded through open national competition by The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (equivalent to the UK EPSRC Council). Project supported by four industrial partners: TataSteel, SKF, FNsteel and DAF Trucks. Total budget: £208k.

Professional activities and membership

2020-now: Elected representative of the Crystallography Science group on the Diamond User Committee, Diamond Light source, UK.

2020-2021: Member of the working group for the µ15 Flagship beamline of the Diamond-II upgrade at the Diamond Light Source, UK.

2019-now: Editorial Board Member, Metals (Q1 in Metallurgy & Metallurgical Engineering)

2018-now: Visiting Professor at the Centro de Investigación en Ciencia Applicada y tecnología Avanzada, Unidad Altamira, Mexico.

2015-2018: Honorary Fellow at the School of Engineering, University of Liverpool, UK.

Articles in professional journals

Jimenez-Melero, E., Simulating nuclear environments. Materials World. October 2015, p. 43.

Technical reports

Hughes, J., Dawson, H., Jimenez-Melero, E., Electron beam welding of Oxide Dispersion Strengthened steels for UKAEA, within the UK fusion programme STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production), 2021.

Jimenez-Melero, E., van Dijk, N.H., Zhao, L., Sietsma, J., Offerman, S.E., Wright, J.P., van der Zwaag, S., Monitoring metastable grains in steel, ESRF Highlights 2007. p. 30-31.

Invited lectures at international conferences & seminars

2022: Friction stir welding of ODS steels for nuclear technologies. India-UK SPARC Conference on 'Metal Additive Manufacturing and Friction Stir Processing: Present and Future'.

2020: Advanced steel metallurgy under a high-energy synchrotron light. International seminar at the Diamond Light Source, UK.

2019: In-situ X-ray diffraction on the austenite transformation and micromechanics in advanced steels. Annual High-Strength Steel Conference organised in Colmar (France) by the industrial stakeholder Timken.

2016: Friction Stir Welding of ODS steel: processing, characterization and stability. Modern Steel and Iron Alloys international conference (MSIA), Warsaw (Poland).

Invited seminars to industrial stakeholders

2020: Tungsten-copper composites by selective laser melting:  high strength & conductivity components under irradiation, M&I Materials, Trafford Park, Manchester.

2018: Accelerated radiation damage tests of nuclear reactor materials using energetic ions, organised by Westinghouse at the Paul-Scherrer Institute, Switzerland.

2018: Strategic alloys under radiation, Calder Industrial Materials, Chester, UK.

2015: Irradiation damage in high-temperature alloys at the Dalton Cumbrian Facility, TataSteel, IJmuiden, The Netherlands.