RADIATION DAMAGE TO GRAPHITE FROM 30 C TO 185 C

Technical Report · Thu Sep 26 04:00:00 EDT 1957

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/4343699· OSTI ID:4343699

Nightingale, R E; Fletcher, J F

Property changes in polycrystalline graphite resulting from reactor irradiations at temperatures up to 185 deg C and over a range of exposures up to 1135 Mwd/ CT have been determined. Changes in stored energy, thermal conductivity, sample length, and C/sub O/ interlayer crystallite spacing are markedly decreased as exposure temperature is increased. Electrical resistivity changes are also less at higher exposure temperatures, but this property change does not depend as strongly on temperature as the others. Isothermal annealing studies of C/sub O/ changes were conducted on a number of irradiated samples. The data were analyzed assuming a large number of processes distributed in activation energy. The results are summarized in activation energy spectra in which the distribution of C/sub O/ damage is given as a function of the activation energy required for annealing. It is found that not only does a higher exposure temperature decrease the total amount of property change, but also the distributlon of damage accumulated is considerably different. Results are discussed in terms of the radiation damage model suggested by Hennig and Hove. This model is compatible with the experimental results presented. (auth)

• Research Organization: General Electric Co. Hanford Atomic Products Operation, Richland, Wash.
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: W-31-109-ENG-52
• NSA Number: NSA-12-010173
• OSTI ID: 4343699
• Report Number(s): HW-47776(Rev.)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ANNEALING
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
ENERGY
EXCITATION
GRAPHITE
IRRADIATION
LATTICES
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
PHYSICS
RADIATION DOSES
RADIATION EFFECTS
REACTORS
TEMPERATURE
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
WIGNER EFFECT