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Probing Radiation Damage in Plutonium Alloys with Multiple Measurement Techniques

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Scott K. McCall
Affiliation:
mccall10@llnl.govScott_McCall@comcast.net, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California, United States
Mike Fluss
Affiliation:
fluss1@llnl.gov, United States
Brandon W. Chung
Affiliation:
chung7@llnl.gov, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Ave., L-359, Livermore, California, 94551, United States, 925-423-3896
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Abstract

A material subjected to radiation damage will usually experience changes in its physical properties. Measuring these changes in the physical properties provides a basis to study radiation damage in a material which is important for a variety of real world applications from reactor materials to semiconducting devices. When investigating radiation damage, the relative sensitivity of any given property can vary considerably based on the concentration and type of damage present as well as external parameters such as the temperature and starting material composition. By measuring multiple physical properties, these differing sensitivities can be leveraged to provide greater insight into the different aspects of radiation damage accumulation, thereby providing a broader understanding of the mechanisms involved. In this report, self-damage from α-particle decay in Pu is investigated by measuring two different properties: magnetic susceptibility and resistivity. The results suggest that while the first annealing stage obeys second order chemical kinetics, the primary mechanism is not the recombination of vacancy-interstitial close pairs.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2010

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