Title: Listening to Radiation Damage In Situ: Passive and Active Acoustic Techniques

Abstract

Knowing when, why, and how materials evolve, degrade, or fail in radiation environments is pivotal to a wide range of fields from semiconductor processing to advanced nuclear reactor design. A variety of methods, including optical and electron microscopy, mechanical testing, and thermal techniques, have been used in the past to successfully monitor the microstructural and property evolution of materials exposed to extreme radiation environments. Acoustic techniques have also been used in the past for this purpose, although most methodologies have not achieved widespread adoption. However, with an increasing desire to understand microstructure and property evolution in situ, acoustic methods provide a promising pathway to uncover information not accessible to more traditional characterization techniques. This work highlights how two different classes of acoustic techniques may be used to monitor material evolution during in situ ion beam irradiation. The passive listening technique of acoustic emission is demonstrated on two model systems, quartz and palladium, and shown to be a useful tool in identifying the onset of damage events such as microcracking. An active acoustic technique in the form of transient grating spectroscopy is used to indirectly monitor the formation of small defect clusters in copper irradiated with self-ions at high temperature throughmore » the evolution of surface acoustic wave speeds. Here, these studies together demonstrate the large potential for using acoustic techniques as in situ diagnostics. Such tools could be used to optimize ion beam processing techniques or identify modes and kinetics of materials degradation in extreme radiation environments.« less

Authors:

Dennett, Cody A.  ^[1];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Dennett, Cody A."
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0003-2989-9550"
• Search orcid.org for ORCID "0000-0003-2989-9550"

Choens, Robert Charles ^[2]; Taylor, Caitlin Anne ^[2]; Heckman, Nathan M. ^[2]; Ingraham, Mathew Duffy ^[2]; Robinson, David ^[3]; Boyce, Brad L. ^[2]; Short, Michael P.  ^[1];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Short, Michael P."
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-9216-2482"
• Search orcid.org for ORCID "0000-0002-9216-2482"

Hattar, Khalid ^[2]

---

+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering
2. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
3. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)

Publication Date:

2019-11-22

Research Org.:

Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22); USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

OSTI Identifier:

1575771

Report Number(s):

SAND-2019-13074J
Journal ID: ISSN 1047-4838; 680802

Grant/Contract Number:  

AC04-94AL85000

Resource Type:

Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:

JOM. Journal of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Name: JOM. Journal of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society; Journal ID: ISSN 1047-4838

Publisher:

Springer

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English