Investigation of irradiated spacer materials (X750 and Zr-Nb-Cu)

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The purpose of this project is to develop an understanding of the embrittlement behaviour of one of the key mechanical components in a CANDU nuclear power reactor: the spacer, which is located between the calandria tube and the pressure tube. This project is aiming at evaluating radiation induced degradation of spacer material as well as developing a basic science understanding of irradiation damage in an industrially relevant Ni based alloy. The focus of this project will be to examine the effects of helium bubble induced cavitation of grain boundaries in irradiated materials, either using energetic ions or neutron irradiation. The short and long term results are directly applicable to understanding the effect of aging on the integrity of CANDU spacers. The techniques and analysis methods applied here to ion irradiated materials will help in the characterization and interpretation of measurements on neutron irradiated materials being studied at the Canadian Nuclear Laboratory (CNL) in parallel.The experimental results will also be used to support the image simulation models, to establish the intrinsic relationship between irradiation induced nano cavities and its induced mechanical degradation. In addition, thanks to this project, we will provide a high level of HQP training for the new generation of nuclear engineers.