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Characterization of ion-induced radiation effects in nuclear materials using synchrotron x-ray techniques

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2015

Maik Lang ,
Cameron L. Tracy ,
Raul I. Palomares ,
Fuxiang Zhang ,
Daniel Severin ,
Markus Bender ,
Christina Trautmann ,
Changyong Park ,
Vitali B. Prakapenka  and
Vladimir A. Skuratov
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Maik Lang*
Affiliation:
Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA
Cameron L. Tracy
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences; and Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
Raul I. Palomares
Affiliation:
Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA
Fuxiang Zhang
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences; and Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
Daniel Severin
Affiliation:
GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research, Darmstadt 64291, Germany
Markus Bender
Affiliation:
GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research, Darmstadt 64291, Germany
Christina Trautmann
Affiliation:
GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research, Darmstadt 64291, Germany; and Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt 64287, Germany
Changyong Park
Affiliation:
High Pressure Collaborative Access Team (HPCAT), Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA
Vitali B. Prakapenka
Affiliation:
Center for Advanced Radiation Sources, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
Vladimir A. Skuratov
Affiliation:
Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna 141980, Russia
Rodney C. Ewing
Affiliation:
Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, School of Earth Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford 94305, USA
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: mlang2@utk.edu
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Abstract

Recent efforts to characterize the nanoscale structural and chemical modifications induced by energetic ion irradiation in nuclear materials have greatly benefited from the application of synchrotron-based x-ray diffraction (XRD) and x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) techniques. Key to the study of actinide-bearing materials has been the use of small sample volumes, which are particularly advantageous, as the small quantities minimize the level of radiation exposure at the ion-beam and synchrotron user facility. This approach utilizes energetic heavy ions (energy range: 100 MeV–3 GeV) that pass completely through the sample thickness and deposit an almost constant energy per unit length along their trajectory. High energy x-rays (25–65 keV) from intense synchrotron light sources are then used in transmission geometry to analyze ion-induced structural and chemical modifications throughout the ion tracks. We describe in detail the experimental approach for utilizing synchrotron radiation (SR) to study the radiation response of a range of nuclear materials (e.g., ThO2 and Gd2TixZr2−xO7). Also addressed is the use of high-pressure techniques, such as the heatable diamond anvil cell, as a new means to expose irradiated materials to well-controlled high-temperature (up to 1000 °C) and/or high-pressure (up to 50 GPa) conditions. This is particularly useful for characterizing the annealing kinetics of irradiation-induced material modifications.

Keywords

synchrotron radiationx-ray diffractionx-ray absorption spectroscopynuclear materialsactinide oxidesdefectsamorphizationcrystalline–crystalline transformationsdefect annealinghigh-pressure
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 30 , Issue 9: Focus Issue: Characterization and Modeling of Radiation Damage on Materials: State of the Art, Challenges, and Protocols , 14 May 2015 , pp. 1366 - 1379
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2015 

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Footnotes

Contributing Editor: Djamel Kaoumi

References

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