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Title: The microstructure and He+ ion irradiation behavior of novel low-activation W-Ta-Cr-V refractory high entropy alloy for nuclear applications

Journal Article · · Nuclear Materials and Energy
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [1]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5];  [6];  [6];  [7];  [6]; ORCiD logo [8]
  1. National Centre for Nuclear Research, Otwock (Poland)
  2. Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
  3. National Centre for Nuclear Research, Otwock (Poland); Warsaw University of Technology (Poland)
  4. Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth (South Africa)
  5. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Ltd. (Finland)
  6. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
  7. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  8. National Centre for Nuclear Research, Otwock (Poland); Lukasiewicz Research Network, Warsaw (Poland). Institute of Microelectronics and Photonics

Microstructure and nanohardness of a nearly equimolar W-Ta-Cr-V high entropy alloy (HEA), as well as its irradiation response under He+ irradiation, were investigated. The single-phase body-centered cubic nanostructured alloy with a 1 µm thick layer was fabricated on a silicon substrate using a magnetron sputtering method. The HEA film has a complex microstructure consisting of micrometric domains that exhibit internal nanostructure controlled by their crystal orientation. The measured nanohardness of the W-Ta-Cr-V alloy is 13 ± 2 GPa, which significantly exceeds the hardness of nanocrystalline tungsten as a result of the high solid-solution strengthening effect. In order to evaluate the irradiation resistance of the HEA film, the material was irradiated with 200 keV He+ ions at room temperature, with two different ion fluences: 1 × 1016 and 5 × 1016 ions/cm2. Using transmission electron microscopy, a high density of extremely fine He bubbles is observed that were uniformly distributed in the matrix. The increase of He+ ion fluence increased the density of bubbles, whereas their size remained at a similar level, which indicates that the damage proceeds by the nucleation of additional He bubbles, not by their growth.

Research Organization:
Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF); National Centre for Research and Development (NCRD); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities (SUF)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC07-05ID14517; AC07-05ID145142; 89233218CNA000001; 118681; PL-RPA2/01/INLAS/ 2019
OSTI ID:
2204964
Report Number(s):
INL/JOU-23-71140-Rev000; TRN: US2406868
Journal Information:
Nuclear Materials and Energy, Vol. 37; ISSN 2352-1791
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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