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Self-Radiation Damage in Actinide Host Phases of Nuclear Waste Forms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2011

W. J. Weber
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest Laborator, a P.O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352
J. W. Wald
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest Laborator, a P.O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352
Hi. Matzke
Affiliation:
Commission of the European Communities, Joint Research Center, Karlsruhe Establishment, European Institute for Transuranium Elements, Postfach 2266, 7500 Karlsruhe, Federal Republic of Germany
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Abstract

Three crystalline ceramic materials, which occur as host phases for the long-lived actinides in many nuclear waste formulations, were doped with Cm-244, and the effects of self-radiation damage from alpha decay on microstructure and physical properties were investigated. The irradiation-induced microstructure consisted of individual amorphous tracks from both the alpha-recoil particles and the spontaneous fission fragments. The eventual overlap of the tracks at higher doses leads to a completely amorphous state. This radiation-induced amorphization process results in measured increases in volume, leachability, and stored energy. Thermal recovery of the radiation-induced swelling and amorphization occurs with full recrystallization to the initial structures.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1985

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