K. Whittle, D. Riley, S. Moricca, M. Blackford, G. Lumpkin, N. Zaluzec

Ternary carbide materials have been proposed as having applications within the future nuclear technologies. In order for a material to have potential applications in fission and fusion technologies the ability of the materials to tolerate radiation damage needs to be understood and in particular predicted.
Two systems, specifically Ti3AlC2 and Ti3SiC2 have been studied to determine their radiation tolerance, using in-situ ion beam irradiation of 1MeV Kr ions, coupled with transmission electron microscopy. Experiments have shown that Ti3AlC2 in particular shows no appreciable amorphisation at 300K up to doses of at least 3.75x1015 ions cm-2 (~12 dpa). Interestingly there is an observed difference between Ti3AlC2 and Ti3SiC2.
Explanations and possible mechanisms for recovery from damage are presented, along with implications for future potential uses.

Radiation tolerance

Download complete paper