Dr Karl P Travis

BSc PhD CChem MRSC

School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering

Reader in Computational Physics and Nuclear Waste Disposal

Exams Officer

Director of Immobilisation Science Laboratory (ISL)

Dr Karl Travis
Profile picture of Dr Karl Travis
k.travis@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 5483
Sir Robert Hadfield Building

Full contact details

Dr Karl P Travis
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
Profile

I joined the Department in 2003 from the University of Bradford, where I was the A. H. Marks Lecturer in Physical Chemistry 2000-2.

Before that, I undertook postdoctoral appointments at Imperial College (with Dr David Nicholson), North Carolina State and Cornell Universities (with Prof Keith Gubbins) and the Australian National University (with Prof Denis Evans).

I obtained both my PhD and BSc in Chemistry from UMIST, where I also won the Reynolds Prize, UMIST´s premier undergraduate prize.

Research interests

My research covers two broad areas:

1) Deep Borehole Disposal of nuclear waste and

2) Computational Physics. The former is of huge societal importance promising a safer, cheaper and quicker solution to the disposal of high activity and high heat generating wastes. The waste issue must be solved before nuclear power can be expanded, and without which the UK will not meet its net zero legal obligations. Computational Physics provides a powerful cross cutting capability over many different disciplines within Engineering. I specialise in developing algorithms (atomistic and continuum) to help understand experimental data, provide mechanistic information and to test theories.

Key research interests:

Alternative Disposal Concepts: Deep Borehole Disposal
Geological disposal of HLW and spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in very deep boreholes is a concept whose time has come. The alternative – disposal in a mined, engineered repository is beset with difficulties not least of which are the constraints placed upon the engineered barriers by the high thermal loading.

The deep borehole concept offers a potentially safer, faster and more cost-effective solution. The deep borehole research group at Sheffield (Travis and Gibb) is at the forefront of international efforts to develop this concept. We are currently working with Sandia National Labs on a program leading to the drilling of pilot borehole in the USA. Our work includes: developing sealing and support matrices, rock welding and deployment mechanisms, and employs a combination of experiment and continuum modelling (Finite differences and Smooth Particle Applied Mechanics).

Behaviour of Materials under extreme conditions
Our main focus here is on wasteform performance. The detrimental effects of self-irradiation (mostly alpha decay) of immobilised radionuclides include: swelling, amorphisation and crack formation in ceramics and de-vitrification in glasses. We use computational methods (mainly molecular dynamics and topological modelling) and statistical mechanics to examine the consequences of alpha recoil damage and understand the recovery pathways in these materials. Recent research is aimed at understanding why some materials have a greater resistance to radiation-induced amorphisation. The use of Smooth Particle Applied Mechanics in understanding how materials fail under mechanical and thermal loading is another area of interest.

Simulation Methodology
Software Packages certainly have a role to play in the Materials Science and Engineering community, but new research often requires new methods of simulation that are not supported by off-the-shelf codes. Developing new simulation methods and codes is a key area of interest for this research group.
Previous research in this area includes the development of configurational thermostats and barostats for molecular simulation and a method which allows an unambiguous determination of the role played by intramolecular flexibility on transport properties of liquids. Recent work in collaboration with Bill and Carol Hoover has led to a new algorithm for simulating Joule-Thomson expansion of gases.

Publications

Journal articles

Chapters

Conference proceedings papers

Professional activities and memberships
  • Adjunct Associate Professor, Swinburne University, Australia
  • Fellow of The Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC)