Materials Performance in a Radiation Environment

MRS Bulletin ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 11-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank W. Clinard

An important part of materials science is the study of the behavior of materials under difficult environmental conditions. Some operating conditions have been traditional objects of study—for example, high temperatures and corrosive atmospheres. The study of materials in radiation environments gained particular significance after the advent of nuclear reactors, and radiation has joined the list of insults to which materials are subjected. Technological applications that involve significant levels of radiation include but are not limited to fission reactors, proposed fusion reactors, nuclear waste, ion accelerators, and spacecraft, with types of radiation encompassing thermal and fast neutrons, light and heavy ions, and energetic photons. More detailed information on applications and accompanying radiation fields appears in the articles published in this issue of MRS Bulletin and in the references listed under Further Reading.The four theme articles in this issue focus on radiation effects in four families of materials commonly used in radiation environments: metals, ceramics, graphite and carbon-based materials, and polymers.

Author(s):  
G. Bascoul ◽  
K. Sanchez ◽  
G. Perez ◽  
F. Bezerra ◽  
H. Chauvin

Abstract Pulsed laser for radiation sensitivity evaluation has become a common tool used in research and industrial laboratory. This paper aims to highlight an approach to understand weaknesses of a component under radiation environment using a short pulsed width laser beam coupled to thermography technique, heavy ions test inputs and physical analysis. This paper is based on a study of a PWM device embedded on voltage converter.


2013 ◽  
Vol 341 ◽  
pp. 181-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.K. Tripathi

High-energy electron, proton, neutron, photon and ion irradiation of semiconductor diodes and solar cells has long been a topic of considerable interest in the field of semiconductor device fabrication. The inevitable damage production during the process of irradiation is used to study and engineer the defects in semiconductors. In a strong radiation environment in space, the electrical performance of solar cells is degraded due to direct exposure to energetically charged particles. A considerable amount of work has been reported on the study of radiation damage in various solar cell materials and devices in the recent past. In most cases, high-energy heavy ions damage the material by producing a large amount of extended defects, but high-energy light ions are suitable for producing and modifying the intrinsic point defects. The defects can play a variety of electronically active roles that affect the electrical, structural and optical properties of a semiconductor. This review article aims to present an overview of the advancement of research in the modification of glassy semiconducting thin films using different types of radiations (light, proton and swift heavy ions). The work which has been done in our laboratory related to irradiation induced effects in semiconducting thin films will also be compared with the existing literature.


2019 ◽  
pp. 83-87
Author(s):  
V.I. Gulik ◽  
D.O. Sheliahovskyi ◽  
A.V. Nosovskyi

The investigations directed to plutonium and minor actinides transmutations for two-zone subcritical reactor is considered in present paper. The distributions of thermal and fast neutrons in the subcritical system were obtained. The distributions of fission and capture reaction rates for 237Np and 243Am were analyzed from viewpoint of minor actinides transmutation. The transmutation simulations for different distributions of pin targets were carried out within the scope of this paper. The obtained modeling results for different nuclear waste isotopes were analyzed and discussed.


Author(s):  
І. О. Іванов ◽  
Н. П. Супрун ◽  
Ю. О. Ващенко

Investigation of the influence of the peculiarities of raw material composition and structure of traditional and innovative linen textile materials on their hygienic properties. Theoretical and experimental investigations are based on the main positions of textile materials science. In experimental studies, modern standardized methods for determining the hygienic properties of textile materials were used, as well as techniques specially developed taking into account the peculiarities of the operating conditions of underwear. The peculiarities of the operating conditions and the basic functions of hospital underwear were determined. The comparative analysis of hygienic properties of traditional and modern fabrics for underwear was carried out. Using the standardized and the developed methods, adapted to the peculiarities of the conditions of use of the products, the indicators characterizing the processes of water absorption of the materials were experimentally determined. On the basis of the obtained values of quality indicators, a comprehensive assessment of the ability of materials to transfer moisture and air, with the calculation of the arithmetic complex quality index was done. This allowed to determine the material that is optimal in properties, which provides thermophysiological comfort when operating hospital underwear. Using the developed methods, which take into account the specifics of the operating conditions, a comparative analysis of the hygienic properties of traditional and innovative materials for underwear was carried out. A new range of textile materials for underwear has been proposed, taking into account the peculiarities of the operational situation of consumption.


Metals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1309
Author(s):  
Marcel Miglierini

Due to their excellent magnetic properties, amorphous metallic alloys (AMAs) are considered for the construction of magnetic cores of radio-frequency cavities in accelerators. Here, they might be exposed to ion bombardment. The influence of irradiation by both light and heavy ions featuring low and high energies, respectively, is followed by the techniques of 57Fe Mössbauer spectrometry. Modifications of surface layers in selected Fe-containing AMAs after ion irradiation are unveiled by detection of conversion electrons and photons of characteristic radiation whereas those in their bulk are derived from standard transmission spectra. Rearrangement of microstructure which favors the formation of magnetically active regions, is observed in surface regions bombarded by light ions. Heavy ions caused pronounced effects in the orientation of net magnetization of the irradiated samples. No measurable impact upon short-range order arrangement was observed. Part I of this paper is devoted to radiation effects in Fe-based AMAs induced by neutron irradiation.


Author(s):  
Hector Hernandez Lopez ◽  
Javier Ortiz Villafuerte

Currently, at the Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares (National Institute for Nuclear Research) in Mexico, it is being developed a computational code for evaluating the neutronic, thermal and mechanical performance of a fuel element at several different operation conditions. The code is referred as to MCTP (Multigrupos con Temperaturas y Potencia), and is benchmarked against data from the Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant (LVNPP). In the code, the neutron flux is approximated by six groups of energy: one group in the thermal region (E < 0.625 eV), four in the resonances region (0.625 eV < E < 0.861 MeV), and one group in the fast region (E > 0.861 MeV). Thus, the code is able to determine the damage to the cladding due to fast neutrons. The temperature distribution is approximated in both axial and radial directions taking into account the changes in the coolant density, for both the single and two-phase regions in a BWR channel. It also considerate the changes in the thermal conductivity of all materials involved for the temperature calculations, as well as the temperature and density effects in the neutron cross sections. In the code, fuel rod burnup is evaluated. Also, plutonium production and poison production from fission. In this work, the neutronic and thermal performance of fuel rods in a 10×10 fuel assembly is evaluated. The fuel elements have a content of 235U. The fuel assembly was introduced to the unit 1 of LVNPP reactor core in the cycle 9 of operation, and will stay in during three cycles. In the analysis of fuel rod performance, the operating conditions are those for the cycle 9 and 10, whereas for the current cycle (cycle 11) the reactor is projected to operate during 460 days. The analysis for cycle 11 uses the actual location of the fuel assembly that will have in the core. The results show that the fuel rods analyzed did not reach the thermal limits during the cycles 9 and 10, as expected, and for cycle 11 the same thermal limits are not predicted to be reached.


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