200 MeV proton irradiation of the oxide-dispersion-strengthened copper alloy (GlidCop-Al15)

Journal Article · 18 January 2019 · Journal of Nuclear Materials

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.01.026 · OSTI ID:1496575

Simos, N. ^[1]; Kotsina, Z. ^[2]; Dooryhee, Eric ^[3]; Zhong, Z. ^[3]; Zhong, H. ^[4]; Camino, F. ^[3]; Quaranta, E. ^[5]; Charitonidis, N.  ^[5]; Bertarelli, A. ^[5]; Redaelli, S. ^[5]; Snead, L. ^[4]; Sprouster, D. ^[4]

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1. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Stony Brook Univ., Stony Brook, NY (United States)
2. National Centre of Scientific Research "Demokritos”, Athens (Greece)
3. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
4. Stony Brook Univ., Stony Brook, NY (United States)
5. European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva (Switzerland)

In search to identify extremely stable materials to perform the collimation function of the 7-TeV proton beam halo at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), oxide dispersion strengthened (DS) copper alloys were explored. These internally oxidized copper alloys known as GlidCop are also leading candidates for high heat flux applications in fusion reactors and as divertor and first wall structure in ITER. These considerations have led to an extensive body of research on neutron-induced changes in the microstructure and physio-mechanical properties. This study focused primarily on the damage induced by 200 MeV protons on as wrought and cold-worked GlidCop Al15 DS copper ally selected as a candidate material of the LHC beam collimation structure to damage levels up to ~10 displacements-per-atom (dpa) and irradiation temperatures up to ~600 °C. For reference, low dose spallation neutron damage at sub-zero irradiation temperature was included in the study. Proton irradiation effects on dimensional stability, mechanical behavior, electrical resistivity and X-ray diffraction-based microstructural changes are presented in the paper. GlidCop Al15 exhibited excellent thermal stability and superior to pure Cu resistance to conductivity loss. Proton irradiation-induced hardening and embrittlement at distinct irradiation temperature regimes were shown to follow similar trends to what was reported under neutron exposure to even higher dpa damage. At T_irr ~600 ± 20 °C the cold-worked DS copper alloy exhibited softening accompanied by elongation reduction while at T_irr ~200 ± 10 °C the as-wrought experienced hardening with elongation increase. Furthermore, high resolution X-ray diffraction revealed that even low-dose neutron irradiation has a strong influence on the size and distribution of dispersed Al₂O₃ particles.

• Research Organization: Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22)
• Grant/Contract Number: SC0012704
• OSTI ID: 1496575
• Report Number(s): BNL--211292-2019-JAAM
• Journal Information: Journal of Nuclear Materials, Journal Name: Journal of Nuclear Materials Journal Issue: C Vol. 516; ISSN 0022-3115
• Publisher: ElsevierCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English