PhD candidate gains new perspective with Argonne collaboration
UIC PhD student Chenxi Xu is seen demonstrating aspects of her research conducted on Test Vessel 6, showcasing her hands-on role in a collaborative effort in the Mechanism Engineering Test Loop (METL) facility at Argonne National Laboratory.
Attending UIC allows students to conduct research at one of the many laboratories across the College of Engineering. It also allows students to broaden their perspectives by performing experiments at national laboratories where UIC collaborates on research.
For PhD student Chenxi Xu, a collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory has provided her with the chance to work at the Mechanism Engineering Test Loop (METL), a facility designed for testing technology used in sodium fast reactors. The METL is also the largest liquid metal test facility in the U.S.
Xu’s research focuses on nondestructive evaluation and structural health monitoring of hollow structures, such as pipelines and wind turbine towers. Collaborating with various teams, Xu is developing an acoustic emission (AE)-based framework to monitor damage caused by metal deformation in high-temperature environments. It is studied numerically and experimentally on metallic structures, ranging from small dog-bone samples to large-scale piping systems, with the reactor coolant piping system at METL’s Test Vessel 6 serving as a benchmark.
“By conducting AE tests, analyzing data, studying how elastic waves generated by active defects propagated using numerical models, and developing methods to improve the accuracy of damage localization using this framework, AE sensors that fully monitor the entire system can detect early signs of damage, thereby preventing structural failure and enhance the safety of critical infrastructure,” Xu said.
The UIC researchers are collaborating with Derek William Kultgen, who leads the group and oversees METL’s operation at Argonne. He’s helping them with AE sensor equipment and providing technical advice on nuclear reactors.
“It was a shift from the structures I was familiar with when I first started working on this project, but it’s been an incredible chance to learn something new about nuclear engineering,” Xu said. “I’ve really enjoyed my time at Argonne. The environment is inclusive and friendly—everyone is supportive and skilled, and Derek has been a great resource. As a visiting student, I’ve been able to conduct experiments at METL and also use thermography to spot defects in metallic materials.”
In addition to appreciating the collaboration with Argonne, Xu is grateful for the guidance she receives from Professor Didem Ozevin, director of the Nondestructive Evaluation Laboratory at UIC.
“UIC has provided me with the resources and a collaborative environment to support this work. And it’s really my advisor’s hands-on mentorship that has been the key to all my progress on this research and my growth,” she said.