Characterising Irradiation Induced Damage and Phase Changes

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Three PIs at Queen's are seeking to understand the influence of irradiation on material properties. This is made possible by the presence of the RMTL facility (www.rmtl.ca); this facility makes Queen's one of the few universities in the world capable of carrying out proton beam irradiation of samples. This allows us to generate damage in materials, which is directly comparable to the damage found in a high radiation application, for example inside a nuclear reactor or in extraterrestrial space. Understanding the impact of irradiation on materials is not straight-forward, since materials behave quite differently in a nuclear reactor environment than in conventional applications. The team are requesting funding to purchase a controlled environment Differential Scanning Calorimetry / Thermo-Gravimetric Analysis (DSC/TGA) instrument, and a system for monitoring thermal conductivity. These will allow the monitoring of the effect of radiation damage on thermal conduction (critical for design of next generation fuel claddings); and the impact of irradiation on phase changes, in particular clustering and precipitation. In addition, we will be able to monitor oxidation kinetics of irradiated metals and alloys under potential accident scenarios in nuclear plants. The tools will be implemented at the RMTL, a multi-user facility, and will be available to all users.