Abstract:
The dependences of changes in the strength properties of nitride and carbide ceramics under high temperature irradiation with Kr15+ and Xe22+ heavy ions at irradiation doses of
1012–1015 ions/cm2 are presented in this work. The irradiation was chosen to simulate radiation
damage processes that are closest to the real conditions of reactor tests in operating modes of increased temperatures. Polycrystalline ceramics based on AlN, Si3N4 nitrides, and SiC carbides were
chosen as objects of research, as they have great prospects for use as a basis for structural materials
for high-temperature nuclear reactors, as well as materials for nuclear waste disposal. During these
studies the effect of radiation damage caused by irradiation with different fluences on the change
in mechanical strength and hardness were determined, and the mechanisms causing these changes
depending on the type of irradiated materials were proposed. The novelty of this study is in the
results obtained determining the stability of the strength and thermophysical parameters of nitride
and carbide ceramics exposed to high-temperature irradiation, which made it possible to determine
the main stages and mechanisms for changing these parameters depending on the accumulated radiation damage. The relevance of this study consists not only in obtaining new data on the properties
of structural materials exposed to ionizing radiation, but also in the possibility of determining the
mechanisms of radiation damage in ceramics.
