To develop structural materials for advanced reactor concepts and life extension of existing reactors will require a new paradigm for irradiation testing of candidate materials. This new paradigm is accelerator-based ion irradiation. Establishment of its efficacy will be accomplished through the use of standardized testing, to establish confidence in ion irradiation results between various laboratories, and to verify agreement between neutron and ion irradiated property-controlling microstructures. A Round Robin to fabricate and distribute selected materials for ion irradiation and post-irradiation examination will be a focus of this CRP. It is through this mechanism that (i) the degree of interlaboratory variation will be quantified and (ii) a direct comparison of ion beam to reactor irradiations will be made. The results from this CRP should lead to recommendations for best practices in the use of ion beam research for the emulation of in-reactor damage to materials. Several important questions regarding the behaviour of selected structural materials under irradiation will also be addressed by the CRP participants, which may include understanding the dose-rate effect of accelerator irradiations, understanding the primary damage state of different irradiation conditions, and investigation of microstructure changes during the incubation period (e.g. of void swelling). In comparing ion and neutron irradiated property-controlling microstructures, the following may be addressed: determination of analysis procedures and criteria for comparing ion irradiation to neutron irradiation, conducting ion irradiation of previously neutron-irradiated materials, conducting very high dose/high-temperature ion irradiations for future reactor applications, comparing ion and neutron irradiation within a steady state microstructure.
Development of best practices for conducting ion irradiations for the design of new materials for existing and future reactors
Improved knowledge of the nature of radiation damage in candidate structural materials for reactors on the basis of ion irradiation and modelling of its effects
Intercomparison of the results of different ion irradiations conducted across the CRP and the development of recommendation on improved best practices.
Quantification of the degree of agreement between microstructures generated by ion and neutron irradiation.
Improved knowledge of the nature of radiation damage in candidate structural materials for reactors on the basis of ion irradiation and modelling of its effects
Intercomparison of the results of different ion irradiations conducted across the CRP and the development of recommendation on improved best practices.
Quantification of the degree of agreement between microstructures generated by ion and neutron irradiation.
The impact of the CRP comes from the quantitative intercomparison of microstructural features developed under nominally the same irradiation conditions at multiple sites and from the same alloy undergoing nominally the same irradiation at the BOR-60 reactor.
The CRP is highly relevant to the nuclear industry and nuclear materials research as it provides the results of a blind Round Robin irradiation conducted among world leading ion beam facilities as well as at the BOR-60 fast reactor. The alloy selected for the Round Robin (T91) is a ferritic-martensitic alloy under consideration for use in fast reactors as well as current generation power reactors.