Study of the effect of helium, irradiation, and temperature on the embrittlement of Inconel X-750 CANDU garter spring spacers

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This proposed project will use high energy ion irradiation combined with micro-mechanical testing and micro-structural analyses to assess the effect of irradiation damage, irradiation temperature, and helium accumulation on the strength, ductility, and tendency for grain-boundary embrittlement of Inconel X-750 CANDU garter spring spacers. Various amounts of helium ions will be implanted, at two temperatures, into Inconel X-750 samples followed by implantation of high energy nickel ions to invoke crystallographic damage similar to that resulting from neutron irradiation. Nano-indentation hardness testing will be used to assess the combined effect of the accumulated helium and ion-irradiation damage on the hardness of the Inconel alloy. Focused ion beam milling will be used to fabricate cantilever micro-beams, about 100 micrometers in length, across selected grain boundaries of the ion-implanted samples. These beams will then be tested by bending to assess the effect of the helium and irradiation damage on the strength of the grain boundaries.