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Title: Proton irradiation effects in Molybdenum-Carbide-Graphite composites

Journal Article · · Journal of Nuclear Materials
 [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3];  [4];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [2];  [5];  [2];  [2];  [6]; ORCiD logo [3]
  1. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
  2. European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva (Switzerland)
  3. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); State Univ. of New York (SUNY), Stony Brook, NY (United States)
  4. State Univ. of New York (SUNY), Stony Brook, NY (United States)
  5. European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva (Switzerland); Politecnico di Milano (Italy)
  6. National Center for Scientific Research, Paraskevi (Greece)

The High Luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) has prompted the investigation of novel materials for beam-intercepting devices, and in particular for the collimators responsible for protecting the machine from beam losses. The HL-LHC collimation system will inevitably experience increased levels of radiation damage and undergo changes in their crucial physio-mechanical properties. Graphite-matrix composite materials containing molybdenum carbide particles, along with small amounts of titanium carbide, were developed with the objective of enhanced in-beam performance and tested under proton irradiation. The physical degradation observed in early grades of molybdenum carbide compounds, even after modest proton fluences, has prompted the development of advanced compounds. In this work, we examine the effects of proton irradiation on the microstructural and thermophysical properties of new grades of Molybdenum-carbide-graphite compounds up to fluences of ~2 × 1020 p/cm2. Here, we employ a combination of precision dilatometry and high-energy X-ray diffraction to quantify the dimensional stability and crystallographic phase evolution both pre- and post-irradiation. Our results reveal that these new compounds exhibit superior resilience to radiation damage than their predecessors.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0012704
OSTI ID:
1807945
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1815059
Report Number(s):
BNL-221805-2021-JAAM; TRN: US2213161
Journal Information:
Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 553; ISSN 0022-3115
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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