Djamel Kaoumi

Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering

Prof Djamel Kaoumi received his Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 2007 and his Masters of Science from the University of Florida in 2001 with a minor in Materials Science and Engineering. Prior to this, he received his Diplome d’Ingenieur from the Institut Polytechnique National de Grenoble in France in 2000 and his BSc in Physics from the same French institute in 1999.

Prof. Kaoumi’s research interests revolve around developing a mechanistic understanding of microstructure property relationships in nuclear materials, with an emphasis on microstructure evolution under harsh environments (i.e. irradiation, high temperature, and mechanical stress) and how it can impact the macroscopic properties and performance. Understanding the basic mechanisms of degradation of materials at the nanostructure level is necessary for developing predictive models of the material’s performance and the design and development of better materials.

Throughout his academic journey, Prof Kaoumi has taught classes on “Introduction to Nuclear Materials”, “Radiation Damage”, and “Radiation detection and measurement” to a diverse mix of students with different backgrounds and different majors (Nuclear Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering) and he has been mentoring students from different backgrounds.

Research Description

  • Alloy Development for Nuclear Applications, particularly structural and cladding applications, through powder metallurgy: ODS Ni-based alloys for Molten Salt Reactor, ODS steels for Fusion applications Refractory Alloys for Gen IV reactors in general. Amoong processing routes, Additive Manufacturing is primarily used.
  • Effects of Irradiation on microstructure, on mechanical properties through the use of ion irradiation, and more particularly in-situ ion irradiation in the TEM.
  • Corrosion studies in Light Water Reactor simulated water chemistry using pressurized water autoclaves available in Prof Kaoumi’s lab.
  • Coupled effects of irradiation and corrosion on alloys of interest for Gen IV reactor (Molten Salt environment and Liquid Metal cooled reactors).
  • Mechanical behavior of advanced alloys through in situ testing the TEM, and under the synchrotron X-Ray beam, in complement to ex-situ bulk mechanical testing. Materials of interest include advanced alloys for structural and cladding applications in advanced nuclear systems (e.g. Austenitic steels , Advanced Ferritic/Martensitic Steels, Oxide-Dispersion-Strengthened (ODS) Steels), High-temperature Ni-based alloys, Zirconium alloys and nanocrystalline metallic systems. Characterization techniques of predilection include both in-situ and ex-situ techniques e.g. In-situ irradiation in TEM (over 15 years of experience), In-situ straining in a TEM, chemi-STEM, SEM, XRD, Synchrotron XRD. Prof Kaoumi has built extensive expertise for in-situ experiments done in a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) which include In-situ ion-irradiation and In-situ straining and mechanical testing experiments. His expertise and contribution to understanding the microstructure evolution under irradiation/stress/temperature through in-situ characterization have earned Prof Kaoumi more than 45 invited talks/seminars related to this scope of his research.

Education

DegreeProgramSchoolYear
Ph.D.Doctorate of Philosophy in Nuclear Engineering Cornell University2007
MSNEMasters of Science in Materials SciencesUniversity of Florida2001
BS.Phy.Bachelors of Science in PhysicsInstitut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (France)1999

Publications

Corrigendum to 'Behavior of Fe-based alloys in a liquid lead-bismuth environment under simultaneous proton irradiation and corrosion'
Demir, E., Ayyapan, S., Zhou, W., Cairang, W., Woller, K. B., Short, M. P., & Kaoumi, D. (2026, January 8), Acta Materialia, Vol. 1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2026.121895
In situ proton irradiation-induced delocalization of corrosion in Fe-based alloys exposed to liquid Pb-4Bi at 675 °C
Cairang, W., Zhou, W., Yang, T., Woller, K. B., Demir, E., Ayyapan, S., … Short, M. P. (2026, February 20), Corrosion Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2026.113717
Irradiation-Induced Grain Growth of γ F e 2 O 3 and F e 3 O 4 at Cryogenic Temperatures
Kretov, D., Kaspar, T., Derby, B., Schreiber, D., & Kaoumi, D. (2026, January 23), Scripta Materialia, Vol. 1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2026.117179
A Review of the Influence of Processing Parameters on ODS Steels Produced via Additive Manufacturing Techniques
deJong, M., Horn, T., & Kaoumi, D. (2025, October 20), JOM. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-025-07777-2
Chemistry effects on ODS steel consolidated via laser powder bed fusion from GARS powder
deJong, M., Saptarshi, S., Anderson, I., Tiarks, J., Parish, C., Carter, M., … Kaoumi, D. (2025, May 6), Materials Characterization, Vol. 225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2025.115141
Correlated transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography characterization of ion irradiated Ni-based alloy Hastelloy N
Gardner, H. M., Schoell, R., Qiu, J., Carter, M., Hosemann, P., Moody, M., … Armstrong, D. E. J. (2025, July 2), Materials Characterization, Vol. 227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2025.115316
Corrosion sensitivity of nickel-based Alloy Inconel 600 in pressurized water reactor water chemistry: Can KOH replace LiOH?
Tsai, F.-Y., Hong, M., Zhou, C., Yano, K. H., Schreiber, D. K., Hosemann, P., & Kaoumi, D. (2025, June 4), Corrosion Science, Vol. 255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2025.113052
Defect interactions with the microstructure in multi-principal element alloys and the role of phase separation and precipitation
Selim, F. A., Liedke, M. O., Ayyappan, S., Chung, T., Butterling, M., Agarwal, S., … Kaoumi, D. (2025, December 17), Npj Materials Degradation. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41529-025-00723-2
Effect of Al addition to the multi-principal elemental AlxCrFeNiCu alloy system in terms of the resulting microstructure and ion irradiation response
Ayyappan, S., Forrester, J. S., Selim, F., Beausoleil, G., & Kaoumi, D. (2025, May 9), Journal of Alloys and Compounds, Vol. 1031. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2025.180882
Effect of cold forging on the microstructure and corrosion behavior of type 316L stainless steel in molten FLiNaK salt
Qiu, J., Hayes, R. D., Chan, H. L., Williams, H., Macdonald, D. D., Scarlat, R. O., … Hosemann, P. (2025, January 9), Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 606. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2025.155624

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Djamel Kaoumi