Development of irradiation capabilities to address the challenges of the nuclear industry

Leay, Laura; Bower, William R.; Horne, Gregory P; Wady, P.; Baidak, Aliaksandr; Pottinger, M.; Nancekievill, Matthew; Smith, Alexander C.; Watson, Simon; Green, Peter R.; Lennox, Barry; LaVerne, Jay A.; Pimblott, Simon M.

doi:10.1016/j.nimb.2014.11.028

Cited by 25 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 47 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Samples were irradiated using the University of Manchester's newly commissioned 5 MV NEC 15SDH-4 tandem pelletron ion accelerator, equipped with a toroidal volume ion source (TORVIS) at the Dalton Cumbrian Facility, U.K. (Leay et al 2015). Samples were held in a customized target station (Bower et al 2015) and irradiated under vacuum with a focused 4 He 2+ beam.…”

Section: Ion Irradiationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiation damage in biotite mica by accelerated α-particles: A synchrotron microfocus X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy studyk

Bower

Pearce

Smith³

et al. 2016

American Mineralogist

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A critical radiation damage assessment of the materials that will be present in a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) for radioactive waste is a priority for building a safety case. Detailed analysis of the effects of high-energy a-particle damage in phyllosilicates such as mica is a necessity, as these are model structures for both the clay-based backfill material and the highly sorbent components of a crystalline host rock. The a-radiation stability of biotite mica [general formula: K(Mg,Fe) 3 (Al,Si 3 O 10) (F,OH) 2 ] has been investigated using the 5 MV tandem pelletron at the University of Manchester's Dalton Cumbrian Facility (DCF) and both the microfocus spectroscopy (I18) and core X-ray absorption spectroscopy (B18) beamlines at Diamond Light Source (U.K.). Microfocus X-ray diffraction mapping has demonstrated extensive structural aberrations in the mica resulting from controlled exposure to the focused 4 He 2+ ion (a-particle) beam. Delivered doses were comparable to a-particle fluences expected in the highly active, near-field of a GDF. At doses up to 6.77 displacements per atom (dpa) in the region of highest particle fluence, biotite mica displays a heterogeneous structural response to irradiation on a micrometer scale, with sequential dilation and contraction of regions of the structure perpendicular to the sheets, as well as a general overall contraction of the phyllosilicate layer spacing. At the peak of ion fluence, the structure collapses under a high point defect density and amorphous areas are pervasive among altered domains of the original lattice. Such structural alterations are likely to affect the material's capacity to sorb and retain escaped radionuclides over long timescales; increased edge site availability may favor increased sorption while interlayer uptake will likely be reduced due to collapse. Radiation-induced reduction of structural iron at the region of highest structural damage across an a-particle's track has been demonstrated by Fe K-edge X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) and local structural disorder has been confirmed by analysis of both potassium K-edge XANES and Fe K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure analysis. An infrared absorption study of deformations in the OHstretching region, along with electron probe microanalysis complements the synchrotron data presented here.

show abstract

Section: Ion Irradiationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiation damage in biotite mica by accelerated α-particles: A synchrotron microfocus X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy studyk

Bower

Pearce

Smith³

et al. 2016

American Mineralogist

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Horizontal steering is provided by the injection and switch magnets with additional electrostatic or magnetic vertical steering at the low and high energy ends of the accelerator. 5 A six-port vacuum chamber (1 × 10 −6 Torr or better, depending on sample requirements) at the end of the beamline contained samples during exposure (Figs. 1-3).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…5 The Toroidal Volume Ion Source (TORVIS) has been employed to generate 4 He 2+ ions (α-particles) at relatively low currents (<0.5 µA). These were accelerated into mineral samples mounted in a customized end-station.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Note: Establishing α-particle radiation damage experiments using the Dalton Cumbrian Facility’s 5 MV tandem pelletron

Bower

Smith

Pattrick

et al. 2015

Review of Scientific Instruments

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Evaluating the radiation stability of mineral phases is a vital research challenge when assessing the performance of the materials employed in a Geological Disposal Facility for radioactive waste. This report outlines the setup and methodology for efficiently allowing the determination of the dose dependence of damage to a mineral from a single ion irradiated sample. The technique has been deployed using the Dalton Cumbrian Facility's 5 MV tandem pelletron to irradiate a suite of minerals with a controlled α-particle ((4)He(2+)) beam. Such minerals are proxies for near-field clay based buffer material surrounding radioactive canisters, as well as the sorbent components of the host rock.

show abstract

“…irradiation experiment. The irradiation experiments were carried out using the DAFNE 5MV Tandem Pelletron at the University of Manchester Dalton Cumbria Facility 68,69 . The specimen setup during irradiation is illustrated in Fig.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Novel Methods for Recording Stress-Strain Curves in Proton Irradiated Material

Smith

Garner

Lunt

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

proton irradiation is often used as a proxy for neutron irradiation but the irradiated layer is typically <50 μm deep; this presents a problem when trying to obtain mechanical test data as a function of irradiation level. two novel methodologies have been developed to record stress-strain curves for thin proton-irradiated surface layers of SA-508-4N ferritic steel. In the first case, in-situ loading experiments are carried out using a combination of X-ray diffraction and digital image correlation on the near surface region in order to measure stress and strain, thereby eliminating the influence of the non-irradiated volume. the second approach is to manufacture small-scale tensile specimens containing only the proton irradiated volume but approaching the smallest representative volume of the material. this is achieved by high-speed focused ion beam (fiB) milling though the application of a Xe + plasma-fiB (PFIB). It is demonstrated that both techniques are capable of recording the early stage of uniaxial flow behaviour of the irradiated material with sufficient accuracy providing a measure of irradiation-induced shift of yield strength, strain hardening and tensile strength.The limited penetration depth of proton irradiation makes measurement of mechanical properties difficult using established techniques 16,17 . Over the last decade, the use of Ga + focussed ion beam (FIB) instruments has allowed for the preparation of small scale samples from proton irradiated layers 18-23 . The mechanical properties of these samples are then tested using a MEMS chip or piezo-actuated test rig without contributions from the non-irradiated volume. This development has allowed studies to take advantage of the increased dose rates and to probe changes in properties previously only attainable using indentation testing [24][25][26][27][28] . However, milling rates are slow because for Ga + FIBs the useable milling currents are limited due to the point source of Ga + ions. Consequently, specimen diameters achievable in a practical time frame are limited to ~10 µm. For most engineering materials, the maximum achievable scale is therefore in the order of single to only a few grains. Hence, the technique is most applicable to single and bi-crystal investigations rather than representing the bulk response of polycrystalline specimens. It has been demonstrated that small scale specimens exhibit an increased hardening inversely proportional to specimen diameter [29][30][31][32][33] . In order to obtain a bulk response, specimens require a minimum length scale sufficient to overcome size reduction effects. The optimum specimen size would have the smallest representative volume (SRV), which would retain the benefits of scale reduction whilst exhibiting bulk behaviour 34 .Recent work by the authors has explored two techniques to increase the sampling volume in low energy proton irradiated samples prepared for mechanical testing 35,36 . The first, an adaptation of the technique outlined by Foecke et al. 37 , combines in-situ X-ray diffraction ...

show abstract

Development of irradiation capabilities to address the challenges of the nuclear industry

Cited by 25 publications

References 47 publications

Radiation damage in biotite mica by accelerated α-particles: A synchrotron microfocus X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy studyk

Radiation damage in biotite mica by accelerated α-particles: A synchrotron microfocus X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy studyk

Note: Establishing α-particle radiation damage experiments using the Dalton Cumbrian Facility’s 5 MV tandem pelletron

Novel Methods for Recording Stress-Strain Curves in Proton Irradiated Material

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About