Publications Details

Impact of krypton irradiation on a single crystal tungsten: Multi-modal X-ray imaging study

Gill, Simerjeet K.; Topsakal, Mehmet; Jossou, Ericmoore; Hattar, Khalid M.; Mausz, Julia; Elbakhshwan, Mohamed; Yan, Hanfei; Chu, Yong S.; Sun, Cheng; He, Lingfeng; Gan, Jian; Ecker, Lynne

Understanding microstructural and strain evolutions induced by noble gas production in the nuclear fuel matrix or plasma-facing materials is crucial for designing next generation nuclear reactors, as they are responsible for volumetric swelling and catastrophic failure. We describe a multimodal approach combining synchrotron-based nanoscale X-ray imaging techniques with atomic-scale electron microscopy techniques for mapping chemical composition, morphology and lattice distortion in a single crystal W induced by Kr irradiation. We report that Kr-irradiated single crystal W undergoes surface deformation, forming Kr containing cavities. Furthermore, positive strain fields are observed in Kr-irradiated regions, which lead to compression of underlying W matrix.