Viewpoint: Nanoscale chemistry and crystallography are both the obstacle and pathway to advanced radiation-tolerant materials. (15th January 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Parish, Chad M.; Wang, Kun; Edmondson, Philip D.
• Is Part Of: Scripta materialia. Number 143(2018)
• Page Start: 169
• Page End: 175
• Publication Date: 2018-01-15
• Subjects: Radiation damage -- Atom probe -- Scanning transmission electron microscopy -- Multivariate statistical analysis -- Transmission Kikuchi diffraction; Materials -- Periodicals; Metallurgy -- Periodicals; Metalen; Legeringen; Materiaalkunde; Metals, metalworking and machinery industries; Metals; Electronic journals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scriptamat.2017.05.014
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1359-6462

Abstract

Abstract: New candidate materials for GenIV or fusion nuclear energy systems, e.g., nanostructured ferritic alloys, are distinguished from older-generation nuclear materials by much smaller feature sizes and complex local nanochemistry and crystallography. Established and perspective nuclear materials, e.g. reactor pressure vessel steels or plasma-facing tungsten, also form small nanoscale structures under in-reactor service. Here, we discuss recent advances in materials characterization – high-efficiency X-ray mapping combined with datamining; transmission Kikuchi diffraction; and atom probe tomography – that make it possible to quantitatively characterize these nanoscale structures in unprecedented detail, which enables advances in understanding and modelling of radiation service and degradation. Abstract : Graphical abstract Image 1