In-situ TEM observation of the response of ultrafine- and nanocrystalline-grained tungsten to extreme irradiation environments

El-Atwani, O.; Hinks, J. A.; Greaves, G.; Gonderman, S.; Qiu, T.; Efe, M.; Allain, J. P.

doi:10.1038/srep04716

In-situ TEM observation of the response of ultrafine- and nanocrystalline-grained tungsten to extreme irradiation environments

Journal Article · Tue May 06 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Scientific Reports

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/srep04716· OSTI ID:1624706

El-Atwani, O. ^[1]; Hinks, J. A. ^[2]; Greaves, G. ^[2]; Gonderman, S. ^[3]; Qiu, T. ^[4]; Efe, M. ^[5]; Allain, J. P. ^[6]

Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States). School of Nuclear Engineering; Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States). School of Materials Engineering; Birck Nanotechnology Center, West Lafayette, IN (United States); DOE/OSTI
Univ. of Huddersfield (United Kingdom). School of Computing and Engineering
Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States). School of Nuclear Engineering
Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States). School of Materials Engineering
Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States). Center for Materials Processing and Tribology
Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States). School of Nuclear Engineering; Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States). School of Materials Engineering; Birck Nanotechnology Center, West Lafayette, IN (United States)

The accumulation of defects, and in particular He bubbles, can have significant implications for the performance of materials exposed to the plasma in magnetic-confinement nuclear fusion reactors. Some of the most promising candidates for deployment into such environments are nanocrystalline materials as the engineering of grain boundary density offers the possibility of tailoring their radiation resistance properties. In order to investigate the microstructural evolution of ultrafine- and nanocrystalline-grained tungsten under conditions similar to those in a reactor, a transmission electron microscopy study with in situ 2 keV He1 ion irradiation at 9506C has been completed. A dynamic and complex evolution in the microstructure was observed including the formation of defect clusters, dislocations and bubbles. Nanocrystalline grains with dimensions less than around 60 nm demonstrated lower bubble density and greater bubble size than larger nanocrystalline (60–100 nm) and ultrafine (100–500 nm) grains. In grains over 100 nm, uniform distributions of bubbles and defects were formed. At higher fluences, large faceted bubbles were observed on the grain boundaries, especially on those of nanocrystalline grains, indicating the important role grain boundaries can play in trapping He and thus in giving rise to the enhanced radiation tolerance of nanocrystalline materials.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0004032

OSTI ID:: 1624706

Journal Information:: Scientific Reports, Journal Name: Scientific Reports Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 4; ISSN 2045-2322

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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