DT fusion neutron radiation strengthening of copper and niobium
The initial results of a comparative study of the radiation strengthening and damage structures produced in Cu and Nb by D-T fusion and fission reactor neutrons are described. The radiation strengthening produced by a given fluence of fusion neutrons above about 10$sup 17$n/cm$sup 2$ is equal to that produced by a fluence of fission reactor neutrons (E greater than 0.1 MeV) ten times as great. This difference is about twice as large as would be expected if the strengthening scaled with damage energy or dpa. Initial transmission electron microscopy observations of the damage structures in fusion and fission reactor neutron irradiated copper indicate that the same type of primary structural defects, vacancy and interstitial point defect clusters and small dislocation loops with a/3 (111) and a/2 (110) Burgers vectors, are produced in both cases. The difference in the radiation strengthening produced by fusion and fission reactor neutrons in Cu appears to result from a substantially greater rate of accumulation of damage, in the form of point defect clusters, during irradiation with fusion neutrons than during irradiation with fission reactor neutrons plus a significant difference in the size and spatial distributions of the damage clusters. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- California Univ., Livermore (USA). Lawrence Livermore Lab.
- NSA Number:
- NSA-33-007156
- OSTI ID:
- 4152915
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL--77357(Rev.1); CONF-751026--32
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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