Radiation Damage in Structural Nuclear Materials

The main aim will be to investigate, Silicon Carbide (SiC) and SiC composites as high temperature resistant, low corrosion materials to be used in generation IV nuclear reactor environments such as the cladding around fuel rods for nuclear fission reactors, and as a plasma facing material (PFM) in fusion reactors. Although this material has been suggested for generation IV reactors, and as a PFM, sufficient research has not yet been carried out to find strong evidence that SiC or a composite meet the requirements to function in extreme environments such as in the newly proposed Super-critical Water Reactor (SCWR), or in the DEMO fusion reactor. The main aim will be to analyse SiC's reaction to radiation damage via in-situ TEM with ion irradiation to understand the mechanisms taking place.
Three types of SiC will be analysed; single crystal (3C polytype), SiC with embedded SiC nanowires, and SiC nanowires. The materials will be irradiated via an ion beam system (using the MIAMI facilities) to simulate its lifetime in a nuclear reactor. Radiation response to an ion beam of various energies and masses giving rise to different implantation profiles and levels of damage known as displacements per atom (DPA), will be analysed in situ at various relevant temperatures using a transmission electron microscope (TEM). This will be done to broaden our understanding of the underlying mechanisms SiC/composites undergo during irradiation. Nanoscale images of the samples and diffraction patterns will be taken during the irradiation and this data will be subsequently analysed to determine the materials potential to improve the cost, build time, lifetime, disposal and/or safety of a nuclear reactor.