Abstract
A model of the formation and growth of gas-filled pores in the cores of absorbing elements under neutron irradiation is described. The model is based on a definite similarity between the mechanisms of radiation damage in boron carbide and oxide fuel. For boron carbide, the key mechanism is radiation-stimulated coalescence of helium bubbles, which gives rise to the much larger swelling of boron carbide as compared with nuclear fuel. Regimes of the coalescence of helium bubbles as a function of the irradiation intensity, neutron spectrum, and radial position are investigated. It is shown that the model describes qualitatively well the basic development of gas-filled porosity under irradiation in fast and thermal reactors.
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Evdokimov, I.A., Likhanskii, V.V., Sorokin, A.A. et al. Model of the Formation and Growth of a Gas-Filled Cavity in Boron Carbide under Irradiation. Atomic Energy 93, 749–758 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021724201310
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021724201310