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Title: Potential and limitations of ceramics in terms of structural and electrical integrity in fusion environments

Conference ·
OSTI ID:231216
 [1];  [2]
  1. Kyushu Univ., Fukuoka (Japan). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering
  2. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

The characteristic behavior of the nucleation and growth process of defect clusters in various ceramic materials irradiated with electrons, ions and neutrons is a good measure to evaluate the structural integrity during irradiation. In order to provide insight on the origin of the structural itegrity, this review treats the characteristic difference in defect cluster evolution in M{sub g}Al{sub 2}O{sub 4}, {alpha}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} and MgO. This review also includes experimental results which show the importance of concurrent irradiation effects with transmutation-produced gases and of irradiation spectrum. Further attention is focused on the dynamic effects of irradiation, such as radiation induced conductivity and radiation-induced electrical degradation (RIED) during irradiation with electrons, ions, fission neutrons and fusion neutrons. Since the phenomenon of RIED evokes serious technological problems for applications of ceramics in irradiation environments, this paper heavily emphasizes the nature and possible mechanisms of RIED. Data obtained from recent experiments that used standardized procedures for in-situ measurements of electrical conductivity are discussed.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-96OR22464
OSTI ID:
231216
Report Number(s):
CONF-950961-15; ON: DE96008692
Resource Relation:
Conference: ICFRM-7: international conference on fusion reactor materials, Obninsk (Russian Federation), 25-29 Sep 1995; Other Information: PBD: [1995]
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English