30 Sep 2026
Dr Eric Jiang publishes a first-author paper in Journal of Nuclear Materials
Thermal conductivity measurement of nuclear graphite using frequency‑domain thermoreflectance (FDTR)
Figure from the paper of FDTR measurements of nuclear graphite.
Brief Description
In Eric Jiang's paper, it establishes the foundation for using Frequency-Domain Thermoreflectance (FDTR) to measure the bulk thermal conductivity of nuclear graphite materials for the first time in the open literature. FDTR provides a promising alternative to conventional flash methods, for which stringent testing requirements are often specified by international standards such as ASTM, while yielding only depth-averaged thermal conductivity values. In addition, FDTR offers the unique capability of measuring thermal conductivity at relatively high spatial resolution, enabling future mapping of thermal conductivity degradation gradients both through the depth and across the plane of neutron- and proton-irradiated graphite.
How to Find the Paper
Ming Jiang, et al. "Thermal conductivity measurement of nuclear graphite using frequency‑domain thermoreflectance (FDTR)", Journal of Nuclear Materials, Volume 634, 2026, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022311526006872
Acknowledgements
Funding Bodies: UKRI (Science and Technology Facilities Council, STFC, ST/W001683/1 and ST/W001683/2), and ENLIGHT programme-Enabling a Lifecycle approach to Graphite for AMR under the award number UKRI1795.
