Micro to nanostructural observations in neutron irradiated nuclear graphites PCEA and PCIB

Freeman, Helen M.; Mironov, B. E.; Windes, William E.; Alnairi, M. M.; Scott, A. J.; Westwood, A. V. K.; Brydson, R. M. D.

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2017.05.011

Title: Micro to nanostructural observations in neutron irradiated nuclear graphites PCEA and PCIB

Journal Article · Fri May 12 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Journal of Nuclear Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2017.05.011· OSTI ID:1465813

Freeman, Helen M. ^[1];

^[2];

^[3]; Alnairi, M. M. ^[2]; Scott, A. J. ^[2];

^[2]; Brydson, R. M. D. ^[2]

GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam (Germany); Univ. of Leeds, Leeds (United Kingdom)
Univ. of Leeds, Leeds (United Kingdom)
Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Center for Advanced Energy Studies, Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

Here, the neutron irradiation induced structural changes in nuclear grade graphites PCEA and PCIB were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). The graphite samples were irradiated at the Advanced Test Reactor National User Facility at the Idaho National Laboratory. Received doses ranged from 1.5 dpa - 6.8 dpa and irradiation temperatures varied between 350°C - 670°C. XRD data showed crystallite sizes to reduce by 35% (for both La and Lc) for low dose, low temperature specimens and by 50% (for both La and Lc) for high dose, high temperature specimens (compared to unirradiated specimens of the same grade). Analysis of the G peak in Raman spectra of irradiated specimens provided evidence for the fragmentation of crystallites following neutron irradiation. Conventional TEM and SAED were used to observe the structure of lattice fringes and measure the spacing of planes. Image analysis software was applied to TEM images to quantify fringe length, tortuosity, and relative orientation of planes. Neutron irradiation appeared to induce basal plane fragmentation and curvature. EELS was performed to study the proportion of sp2 bonding and specimen density. The high dose high temperature specimens showed evidence of structural recovery where sp2 values are slightly higher than values associated with low dose low temperature specimens. Data from XRD, Raman, TEM, SAED and EELS showed that low dose low temperature specimens tended to exhibit higher structural damage (such as lower sp2 content, higher d-spacing, and reduced crystallite size) than high dose high temperature specimens.

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Research Organization:: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC07-05ID14517

OSTI ID:: 1465813

Journal Information:: Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 491, Issue C; ISSN 0022-3115

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 12 works

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