Speaker
Description
Radiation-induced effects in materials can alter the microstructure and mechanical properties of structural materials, typically resulting in a degradation of the ductility and fracture toughness. Characterization and understanding of the microstructural changes and deformation processes that occur in irradiated materials are critical for preventing failure and ensuring reliable operation of components in high-radiation environments. At the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a post irradiation examination (PIE) program is maintained to sample and test material from targets and proton beam windows (PBW) after their removal from operation. Sampling and testing of these materials is complicated by their high levels of radioactivity. The complications from examining and testing irradiated material has led to the development of specialized characterization techniques designed to protect the researcher and provide useful information. These techniques typically involve using reduced-size specimens or special handling techniques to limit the exposure to personnel. Several unique materials characterization techniques have been developed at ORNL to test and examine radioactive specimens, including digital image correlation (DIC), in-situ tensile tests with a scanning electron microscope equipped with an electron backscattered diffraction (SEM-EBSD) detector, thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and scanning transmission electron microscopy with electron energy-loss spectroscopy (STEM-EELS). This presentation will cover the characterization techniques developed and used at ORNL to characterize irradiated material samples from the SNS PIE program.
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