Radiation effects and differential damage in binary carbide hybrids

最近材料科学的创新导致一系列新材料被确定为可用于核反应堆堆芯，这些材料范围从SiC基陶瓷到新型合金，如FeCrAl，以及具有金属和陶瓷性能的混合体。一个特定的领域变得更加及时是二元碳化物的潜在用途，如SiC-SiC，这是一种基于两种不同SiC相的体系。该提案将这项工作作为一个概念，将其修改为使用SiC和TiC，这两种具有不同材料性质的碳化物，但在核芯中使用时，它们一起可能具有有利的性质。本提案研究了损伤对TiC和SiC界面的影响，例如由于诱导损伤引起的微分膨胀的影响，或者在界面上形成裂变气泡的可能性。这只是这类系统面临的两个潜在问题，也是这项工作的一部分。该项目利用阿贡国家实验室（IVEM-TANDEM）和橡树岭国家实验室（LAMDA）的独特设施，与ATR-NSUF计划一起提供访问。

Recent innovations in material science has led to a range of new materials being identified as being usable within nuclear reactor cores, these range from SiC based ceramics, to novel alloys such as FeCrAl, and to hybrids with both metallic and ceramic properties. One specific area that is become more timely is the potential use of binary carbides such as SiC-SiC which is a system based on two distinct SiC phases. This proposal takes this work as a concept, modifying it to use SiC and TiC, two carbides with different material properties, but which together may have advantageous properties when used within a nuclear core.This proposal examines the effects of damage on the interfaces between the TiC and SiC, for example the impact of differential expansion due to induced damage, or the potential for fission gas bubble formation at the interfaces. These are just two of the potential issues that face such systems and which are part of this work.The project utilises the unique facilities at Argonne National Laboratory (IVEM-TANDEM), and at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (LAMDA), in concert with the ATR-NSUF programme providing access.