Influence of reactor radiation on α-Al2O3 in electrically insulating ceramic

Under the action of radiation, structural changes occur in ceramic materials; these changes influence its mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. Neutron resistance has the strongest effect, inducing a number of complex processes. Most ceramic materials consist of one or more crystalline phases cemented by glass phases. Neutron radiation produces opposite density changes in the crystalline and glass phase. The conflict between these processes in the ceramic leads to increase in radiation resistance, which is the essence of the compensation effect. Thus, on irradiation, the density of crystalline quartz in the free state decreases by 15%, while the density of quartz glass increase by 3%, with corresponding changes in the volume of the phases. In porcelain, such changes facilitate an increase in strength. The radiational strength of ceramic materials was investigated - in particular, the structural changes in the irradiation of the ceramic by fast neutrons in a flux of no more than 2·1020 cm-2. The main effects noticed after irradiation of the ceramic by fast distance and decrease in intensity of the diffractional maxima in the crystalline phases of the ceramic, for example, in the α-Al2O3 phase of the ceramics microlite, GB-7, ultraporcelain, and 22KhS. In the initial state, GB-7 ceramic has a homogeneous, analogous, but the α-Al2O3 crystals are smaller. According to chemical analysis, the mass fraction of aluminum oxide in GB-7 and 22KhS is 97.09% and 95.14%, respectively