NSUF 18-1270: Microstructural examination of in-situ tensile creep SiC specimen irradiated in the Halden reactor

This proposed work will include TEM observation of irradiation induced effects of neutron irradiated SiC. This work will specifically focus on effects of applied stress on the microstructural evolution to understand irradiation creep mechanism of SiC. The specimens evaluated will be high purity SiC monolith non-irradiated and irradiated with and without applied tensile stress of 100MPa and 5MPa under light water reactor relevant conditions of temperature of ~300°C and dose of up to ~0.1dpa. The radiation defects will be characterized by weak beam dark field imaging. By quantifying effects of applied stress on the size distribution and density of the radiation defect clusters, we will correlate macroscopic creep strain and microstructures using data from this study and previous studies, which will modify or advance an existing creep model to predict irradiation creep of SiC under various irradiation conditions. This advancement of the creep model will consequently improve the multi-physics modeling of in-pile stress state of SiC materials for various advanced structural applications. This work will require 40h of FIB time and 48h of TEM time, and will be completed within 5 months.

Additional Info

Field	Value
Abstract	This proposed work will include TEM observation of irradiation induced effects of neutron irradiated SiC. This work will specifically focus on effects of applied stress on the microstructural evolution to understand irradiation creep mechanism of SiC. The specimens evaluated will be high purity SiC monolith non-irradiated and irradiated with and without applied tensile stress of 100MPa and 5MPa under light water reactor relevant conditions of temperature of ~300°C and dose of up to ~0.1dpa. The radiation defects will be characterized by weak beam dark field imaging. By quantifying effects of applied stress on the size distribution and density of the radiation defect clusters, we will correlate macroscopic creep strain and microstructures using data from this study and previous studies, which will modify or advance an existing creep model to predict irradiation creep of SiC under various irradiation conditions. This advancement of the creep model will consequently improve the multi-physics modeling of in-pile stress state of SiC materials for various advanced structural applications. This work will require 40h of FIB time and 48h of TEM time, and will be completed within 5 months.
Award Announced Date	2018-02-01T14:19:36.61
Awarded Institution	None
Facility	None
Facility Tech Lead	Kory Linton
Irradiation Facility	None
PI	Yutai Katoh
PI Email	[email protected]
Project Type	RTE
RTE Number	1270