Response of structural materials to radiation environments

An evaluation of proton and neutron damage to aluminum, stainless steel, nickel alloys, and various aluminum alloys has been performed. The proton studies were conducted at energies of 200 MeV, 800 MeV, and 23.5 GeV. The proton studies consisted of evaluation and characterization of proton-irradiated window/target materials from accelerators and comparison to nonirradiated archival materials. The materials evaluated for the proton irradiations included 99.9999 wt% aluminum, 1100 aluminum, 5052 aluminum, 304 stainless steel, and inconel 718. The neutron damage research centered on 6061 T-6 aluminum which was obtained from a control-rod follower from the Brookhaven National Laboratory`s (BNL) High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR). This material had received thermal neutron fluence up to {approximately}4 {times} 10{sup 23} n/cm{sup 2}. The possible effects of thermal-to-fast neutron flux ratios are discussed. The increases in tensile strength in the proton-irradiated materials is shown to be the result of atomic displacements. These displacements cause interstitials and vacancies which aggregate into defect clusters which result in radiation hardening of the materials. Production of gas (helium) in the grain boundaries of proton irradiated 99.9999 wt% aluminum is also discussed. The major factor contributing to the mechanical-property changes in the neutron-irradiated 6061 T-6 aluminum is the production of transmutation products formed by interactions of the aluminum with thermal neutrons. The metallurgical and mechanical-property evaluations for the research consisted of electron microscopy (both scanning and transmission), tensile testing, and microhardness testing