Blistering and hydrogen retention in poly- and single- crystals of aluminum by a joint experimental-modeling approach. (August 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Quiros, C.; Mougenot, J.; Bisson, R.; Redolfi, M.; Michau, A.; Hassouni, K.; Lombardi, G.
• Is Part Of: Nuclear materials and energy. Volume 20(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-08
• Subjects: Blistering -- Aluminum -- Hydrogen inventory; Nuclear energy -- Periodicals; Nuclear fuels -- Periodicals; Nuclear reactors -- Materials -- Periodicals; Radioactive substances -- Periodicals; 621.4833
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nme.2019.100675
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2352-1791

Abstract

Highlights: Use of Aluminum as a proxy for Beryllium. Studies by experiments and modeling of hydrogen trapping in blisters. Role of the boundaries in hydrogen trapping studied by comparing single-crystals and poly-crystals. Abstract: Aluminum samples have been exposed to a hydrogen plasma generated by a low-pressure – high-density microwave reactor. Aluminum has been chosen as a surrogate for Beryllium. The fluence was kept below 4 × 10 24 ions/m 2, in order to study the first steps of nucleation and growth of surface and bulk defects, i.e. blisters and bubbles. Experimental analyzes and macroscopic rate equation (MRE) modeling on poly- and single- crystals were made to investigate the role played by grains boundaries in the hydrogen retention. Temperature programmed desorption (TPD) on Al poly-crystals revealed the production of aluminum hydrides (alanes) as majority species in the desorption flux. Comparison of microscopy observations for three different single-crystal orientations (〈100〉, 〈110〉 and 〈111〉) allowed to determine preferential orientations able to attenuate the formation of blisters.