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Bubble formation in nuclear glasses: A review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2019

Laura Leay Open the ORCID record for Laura Leay [Opens in a new window]  and
Mike T. Harrison
Laura Leay*
Affiliation:
Dalton Cumbrian Facility, The University of Manchester, Moor Row, Cumbria CA24 3HA, U.K.
Mike T. Harrison
Affiliation:
Waste and Residues Processing Services, National Nuclear Laboratory, Sellafield, Seascale CA20 1PG, U.K.
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Highly radioactive waste is incorporated into a glass matrix to convert it into a safe, passive form suitable for long-term storage and disposal. It is currently known that alpha decay can generate gaseous species, which can nucleate into bubbles, either through the production of helium or from ballistic collisions with the glass network that liberate oxygen. An effective method to probe this phenomenon utilizes ion beams to either directly implant helium or investigate the damage due to ballistic collisions. This paper provides an overview of the methodology, summarizes the results of current studies, and draws comparisons between them. We find that the irradiation scheme as well as the temperature and composition of the glass are important in determining whether bubble formation will occur. We also explore how analytical techniques can promote bubble formation and suggest avenues for further work.

Keywords

nuclear materialsion implantationradiation effects
Type
REVIEW
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 34 , Issue 6 , 28 March 2019 , pp. 905 - 920
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2019 

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Footnotes

This section of Journal of Materials Research is reserved for papers that are reviews of literature in a given area.

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