Sophie Yue Zhang

Sophie is a Senior Scientist working on corrosion and environmentally assisted cracking of metals and alloys for energy applications, including in the sectors of power generation, nuclear waste storage and reprocessing, and H₂ transition. Her focus is on structural integrity and corrosion resistance assessment of materials.

Biography

Sophie joined NPL in February 2018, having completed her PhD in Corrosion of Biomaterials at the University of Birmingham (UK). Her PhD research focused on corrosion of Ti (and its alloys) in simulated physiological environments for biomedical implants. During her PhD she worked for 3 months as a visiting scholar at the Center for Electrochemical Science and Engineering, University of Virginia (USA) and spent 10 months at the University of Alberta (Canada) for collaborative research and engagement.

Sophie is a member of the Institute of Corrosion (ICorr) and the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3).

Areas of interest

Sophie’s current research interests concern environmentally assisted cracking, including atmospheric-induced stress corrosion cracking and hydrogen embrittlement. Her research also includes:

• in situ high resolution crack growth measurement under atmospheric conditions using the Direct Current Potential Drop method
• testing and validation of materials compatibility to operate in H₂ environments   
• mechanistic studies on the transition from pitting to cracking
• the impact of environmental excursions on the crack propagation behaviour of steam turbine blade and disc steels for the power generation industry

Sophie’s other interests include the corrosion of metallic alloys for biomedical applications. In this area she specialises in the corrosion and electrochemical metrology of alloys in simulated physiological solutions, including the role of protein and inflammatory cell-induced metal dissolution behaviour.

Selected Publications

1. Atmospheric stress corrosion crack growth rates of 316L stainless steel for nuclear waste containment, Y. Zhang, A.J.M.C. Cook, C. Padovani, S. Zhou, A. Turnbull, Corros. Sci. 177, 109008 (2020)
2. Influence of additive manufacturing by laser powder bed fusion on the susceptibility of Alloy 718 to hydrogen embrittlement, J. Hesketh, N. McClelland, Y. Zhang, C. Green, A. Turnbull, Corros. Eng. Sci. Technol. 56, 565-574 (2021)
3. Time-dependent Enhanced Corrosion of Ti6Al4V in the Presence of H₂O₂ and Albumin, Y. Zhang, O. Addison, F. Yu, B.C. Rincon Troconis, J.R. Scully, A.J. Davenport, Scientific Reports 8, 3185 (2018)
4. In-Situ Synchrotron X-ray Characterization of Corrosion Products in Zr Artificial Pits in Simulated Physiological Solutions, Y. Zhang, O. Addison, P.F. Gostin, A. Morrell, A.J.M.C. Cook, A. Liens, J. Wu, K. Ignatyev, S. Mihai, A.J. Davenport, J. Electrochem. Soc. 164, C1003-C1012 (2017)