Scientists from Kazakhstan and Russia have made industrial ceramics for nuclear reactors stronger by irradiating them with ions, according to the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.
Experts studied the effect of powerful krypton ion irradiation on the structure and characteristics of ceramics. This material is widely used in nuclear reactors, gas turbine engines, and the space industry. The research results were published by the Russian department.
It turned out that controlled ion exposure can not only simulate radiation damage, but also use it as a tool for "training" the material for endurance. In the future, this will help create a new generation of functional ceramic materials that can work effectively where others lose strength.
At a moderate level of irradiation, ions even give the material additional strength: a parameter such as microhardness (the hardness of individual sections of the material's microstructure) increases almost twofold, the department added.
According to the expert, understanding how radiation defects are formed and develop makes it possible to purposefully control the structure of ceramics, achieving an optimal combination of strength and stability. Such data is extremely important for creating new materials for nuclear energy.
Earlier www1.ru reported that promising diamond crystals for computer memory were obtained at the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.