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Tem Study of Radiation Damage and Annealing of Neutron Irradiated Zirconolite

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

Gregory R. Lumpkin ,
Katherine L. Smith  and
Ron G. Blake
Gregory R. Lumpkin
Affiliation:
Materials Division, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Private Mail Bag 1, Menai, NSW 2234, Australia
Katherine L. Smith
Affiliation:
Materials Division, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Private Mail Bag 1, Menai, NSW 2234, Australia
Ron G. Blake
Affiliation:
Materials Division, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Private Mail Bag 1, Menai, NSW 2234, Australia
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Abstract

Neutron irradiation was used to simulate alpha-decay damage in zirconolite, resulting in a transformation from the crystalline to the amorphous state at doses of 4–25 × 1019 n/cm2 (E ≥ 1 MeV). With increasing dose, the radiation damage microstructures resemble damage caused by: 1) alpha-decay of 232Th and 238U in natural zirconolites, 2) alpha-decay of 238Pu or 244Cm in synthetic samples, and 3) collision cascades in samples irradiated with heavy ions. Heavily damaged zirconolite recovers to a defect fluorite phase on annealing at temperatures up to 1000 °C. The main stage of structural recovery was found to occur at temperatures of 600–800 °C. The microstructures after heating depend on the initial level of damage: zirconolite grains with low to moderate levels of damage anneal to imperfect single crystals, whereas heavily damaged grains recrystallize to a polycrystalline microstructure. Complications encountered in this work include the production of fission tracks (due to trace amounts of U) and a non-uniform distribution of damage at higher dose levels (possibly due to electron beam heating).

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 412: Symposium V – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XIX , 1995 , 329
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1996

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