Neutron studies of irradiation-induced defects in Cu-based materials for nuclear applications

The impact of irradiation on structural nuclear materials is one of the most studied aspects in the field of nuclear research. The irradiation effect involves a complex combination of many types of damage in different time and dimensional scales. The challenge in nuclear material research is to gain knowledge about the migration and agglomeration of defects as well as the trapping and de-trapping of helium at high temperatures. In the current proposal, we want to study irradiation-induced defects and helium-defect interaction in the precipitation-hardened copper alloy CuCrZr and oxide dispersion-strengthened copper ODS-Cu. We would like to determine the role of initially existing defects as phase boundaries and pre-treatment Ne implantation on He retention and bubble sizes in these materials. On the basis of the data obtained, the answer will be sought which of the tested materials is most suitable for nuclear application