Influence of irradiation with heavy Kr15+ ions on the structural, optical and strength properties of BeO ceramic

Abstract

The aim of this work is to study the radiation damage processes, as well as their subsequent evolution and the effect on the structural, optical and mechanical properties of BeO ceramics. The choice of the type of Kr15+ ions with an energy of 140 meV makes it possible to simulate the kinetics of radiation damage comparable to the effect of uranium fission fragments in a nuclear reaction. Dose loads, which ranged from 1011 to 1015 ion/cm2, make it possible to simulate both single effects of radiation damage in the case of irradiation doses of 1011–1012 ion/cm2, and the effects of overlapping radiation damage and their mutual influence on changes in the properties of ceramics. During the studies carried out, the kinetics of changes in ceramics properties from the radiation dose was established, and the critical doses at which ceramics properties deteriorate sharply were determined. Studies showed that a growth in the radiation dose, leading to an increase in the defective areas overlap probability, leads to grain crushing and an increase in dislocation density, which in turn, leads to a slowdown in degradation processes of the ceramics strength and hardness.