Electron backscatter diffraction of plutonium-gallium alloys
- Carl J.
- Thomas G.
- Roland K.
- Jeremy N.
- Ramiro A.
At Los Alamos National Laboratory a recent experimental technique has been developed to characterize reactive metals, including plutonium arid cerium, using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). Microstructural characterization of plutonium and its alloys by EBSD had been previously elusive primarily because of the extreme toxicity and rapid surface oxidation rate associated with plutonium metal. The experimental techniques, which included ion-sputtering the metal surface using a scanning auger microprobe (SAM) followed by vacuum transfer of the sample from the SAM to the scanning electron microscope (SEM), used to obtain electron backscatter diffraction Kikuchi patterns (EBSPs) and orientation maps for plutonium-gallium alloys are described and the initial microstructural observations based on the analysis are discussed. Combining the SEM and EBSD observations, the phase transformation behavior between the {delta} and {var_epsilon} structures was explained. This demonstrated sample preparation and characterization technique is expected to be a powerful means to further understand phase transformation behavior, orientation relationships, and texlure in the complicated plutonium alloy systems.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE
- OSTI ID:
- 976253
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-02-4929
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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