Effect of Neutron Irradiation on Properties of Pb(Mg<SUB>1/3</SUB>Nb<SUB>2/3</SUB>)O<SUB>3</SUB>–PbTiO<SUB>3</SUB>

Abstract

The effect of neutron irradiation on the electrical and piezoelectric properties of a PMN-PT [(Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))O3-PbTiO3)] single crystal such as permittivity, electrical impedance and piezoelectric constant d33 has been investigated at 1 kHz. The changes of d33 and permittivity depending on the dose of neutron irradiation for all samples of PMN-PT single crystal were found. In all samples, the permittivity, and piezoelectric constant d33 decreased with the increase of irradiation dose. Changes of XRD patterns depending on the dose of neutron irradiation for all samples were found. From the results of XRDs for analyzing the formation of the PMN-PT single crystals in single phase, the neutron irradiation will affect the crystallinity of PMN-PT single crystals.

Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)-PbTiO3-Based Ultrasonic Transducer for Detecting Infiltrated Water in Pressurized Water Reactor Fuel Rods

“…In our previous study, according to neutron irradiation dose on PMN-28%PT (Ibulephotonics Co., Ltd., Republic of Korea), changes of its electrical impedance, |Z|, dielectric constant, εr, and piezoelectric charge constant, d33 were measured by an impedance and gain-phase analyzer (HP 4194A, Hewllet Packard Co., Ltd., Palo Alto, CA, USA), LCR meter (4263B LCR meter, Agilent Co., Ltd, Santa Clara, CA, USA), and d33-meter (ZJ-6B PIEZO d33/d31 meter, Institute of Acoustics Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China), respectively, and its results were analyzed by X-ray diffractometry (D/Max 2200, Rigaku Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). Also, obtained XRD pattern data were sorted by search–match method [16]. The number of PMN-28%PT samples was three and those were irradiated by Cf-252 neutron source from 0 to 160 Nm/g (Mrad) at a neutron dose rate of 50 Nm/g/h (Mrad/h) at room temperature.…”

“…From the obtained XRD data for analyzing the formation of the PMN-28%PT samples in single phase, the radioactive irradiation affected the material structure of PMN-28%PT. The crystal structures of PMN-28%PT, which can be described by [(1-x)Pb(Mg 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 -xPbTiO 3 ] are rhombohedral, monoclinic, tetragonal, and cubic phase at room temperature in accordance with the amount of PbTiO 3 content [16]. From Figure 2, the crystal structure of PMN-28%PT samples showed tetragonal phase.…”

“…This phenomenon can cause the permanent dipole moment decreases in the PMN-28%PT crystal structure. From the above analysis, we concluded that the variation of major piezo-electric constants can be caused by neutron irradiation dose [16]. Although there was slight decrease in the PMN-28%PT crystallinity according to increasing neutron irradiation dose, the major piezo-electric constants, which can decide the ultrasonic transducer performance, such as electrical impedance, dielectric constant, and piezoelectric charge constant, varied within acceptable ranges as shown in Figure 1.…”

“…Much research about the effects of various kinds of irradiation on ferro-, pyro-, and piezo-electric elements have been reported [13,14,15]. However, to the best of our knowledge, only a few studies on the effects of radiation on PMN-PT have been conducted [7,16]. In our previous study, we investigated the effects of neutron irradiation on PMN-28%PT for NPP applications [16].…”

“…However, to the best of our knowledge, only a few studies on the effects of radiation on PMN-PT have been conducted [7,16]. In our previous study, we investigated the effects of neutron irradiation on PMN-28%PT for NPP applications [16]. Increasing the neutron radiation dose to 160 Nm/g (Mrad) changes the major piezo-electric constants, which can affect the overall performance of ultrasonic transducers.…”