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Influence of He ion irradiation on the microstructure and hardness of Ni–TiCNP composites

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Abstract

In the present study, samples of a titanium carbide nanoparticle-reinforced nickel alloy (Ni–TiCNP composite) were irradiated with 1 MeV He ions at 700 °C. The evolution of He bubbles and nanohardness was characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and nanoindentation, respectively. TEM images showed that the size and number density of He bubbles in the grains were affected by the He ion fluence. The number density first increased significantly and then decreased with increasing ion dose, while the size exhibited an inverse trend. Moreover, the swelling induced by He bubbles continuously increased with increasing ion dose. He bubbles also formed in the grain boundaries, interior of the TiC nanoparticles, and interfaces between the TiC nanoparticles and Ni matrix. Nanoindentation measurements indicated a decrease in nanohardness after irradiation, which is attributed to the disappearance of intrinsic dislocation lines caused by He ion irradiation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sino-French Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai, 519082, China

    Min Liu & Yong-Feng Yan

  2. Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201800, China

    Zhen-Bo Zhu, Lin-Feng Ye, Ren-Duo Liu & He-Fei Huang

  3. School of Nuclear Science and Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    He-Fei Huang

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  1. Min Liu
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Min Liu, Yong-Feng Yan, Zhen-Bo Zhu and He-Fei Huang. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Min Liu and He-Fei Huang commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to He-Fei Huang.

Additional information

This work was suported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 11705264, 11975304, 12022515, and 12175323).

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Liu, M., Yan, YF., Zhu, ZB. et al. Influence of He ion irradiation on the microstructure and hardness of Ni–TiCNP composites. NUCL SCI TECH 32, 121 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41365-021-00961-4

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