Amorphization of rare earth aluminate garnets by ionic irradiation and decay of 244Cm admixture

Journal Article · Sun Aug 29 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Geology of Ore Deposits

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1134/S1075701510040021· OSTI ID:1066011

Livshits, T. S. ^[1]; Lizin, A. A. ^[2]; Zhang, J. M. ^[3]; Ewing, R. C. ^[3]

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1. Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow (Russian Federation).
2. Joint Stock Co., State Scientific Center – Research Inst. of Atomic Reactors (JSC SSC-RIAR), Dimitrovgrad (Russian Federation)
3. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

The stability of synthetic REE-aluminate garnets irradiated by accelerated Kr²⁺ ions and affected by alpha decay of ²⁴⁴Cm (T_1/2 = 18.1 yr) has been studied. The dose of irradiation sufficient for the complete disordering of the aluminate garnet structure is 0.40–0.55 displacements per atom. This value increases with rising temperature due to the increasing intensity of recovery from radiation damage to the lattice by heating. The critical temperature above which the structure of REE-aluminate is not damaged by radiation is 550°C. The amorphization dose for aluminates with garnet structure is two to three times higher than of that previously studied ferrites; the critical temperature of both is similar. In resistance to radiation, aluminate garnets do not yield to zirconolite and exceed titanate pyrochlore. Heating to 250°C does not lead to substantial recovery from radiation defects in the garnet structure. The radiation impact on matrices of real actinide (An) wastes is lower than that related to ion irradiation and ²⁴⁴Cm doping, and this facilitates a higher radiation resistance of garnets containing HLW.

• Research Organization: Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Materials Science of Actinides (MSA)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: SC0001089
• OSTI ID: 1066011
• Journal Information: Geology of Ore Deposits, Vol. 52, Issue 4; Related Information: MSA partners with University of Notre Dame (lead); University of California, Davis; Florida State University; George Washington University; University of Michigan; University of Minnesota; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Oregon state University; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Savannah River National Laboratory; ISSN 1075-7015
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
nuclear (including radiation effects)
materials and chemistry by design
synthesis (novel materials)
synthesis (self-assembly)