Carbon nanotube (CNT) metal composites exhibit greatly reduced radiation damage
Name
1837082.pdf
Description
Accepted version
Size
1.42 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
6d8a8ed6a372b7926c650cd4742bd7cc
Author(s)
Cao, Penghui
So, Kang Pyo
Yang, Yang
Park, Jong Gil
Li, Mingda
Yan, Long
Hu, Jing
Kirk, Mark
Li, Meimei
Lee, Young Hee
Date Issued
2021
Journal
Acta Materialia
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Citation
Cao, Penghui, So, Kang Pyo, Yang, Yang, Park, Jong Gil, Li, Mingda et al. 2021. "Carbon nanotube (CNT) metal composites exhibit greatly reduced radiation damage." Acta Materialia, 203.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
© 2020 Acta Materialia Inc. Radiation damage of structural materials leads to mechanical property degradation, eventually inducing failure. Secondary-phase dispersoids or other defect sinks are often added to materials to boost their radiation resistance. We demonstrate that a metal composite made by adding 1D carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to aluminum (Al) exhibits superior radiation resistance. In situ ion irradiation with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomistic simulations together reveal the mechanisms of rapid defect migration to CNTs, facilitating defect recombination and enhancing radiation tolerance. The origin of this effect is an evolving stress gradient in the Al matrix resulting from CNT transformation under irradiation, and the stability of resulting carbides. Extreme value statistics of large defect behavior in our simulations highlight the role of CNTs in reducing accumulated damage. This approach to controlling defect migration represents a promising opportunity to enhance the radiation resistance of nuclear materials without detrimental effects.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ACTAMAT.2020.116483
