INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECT OF EXPOSURE TO HEAVY XE22+ IONS ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CARBIDE CERAMICS

Abstract

The paper presents the results of a study of the effect of irradiation with heavy Xe22+ ions with an energy of 440 keV and irradiation fluences of 1014, 5x1014, 1015 ion/cm2 on the properties of ceramics based on silicon carbide (SiC). The choice of the type of irradiation and dose load is due to the possibility of modeling radiation damage to the surface layer with a thickness of 200 nm as a result of the effect of overlapping defective areas. The scientific novelty of the results obtained consists in systematic studies of the stability of the mechanical and strength properties of the surface layer of carbide ceramics to radiation damage. In the course of the studies, it was found that in the case of irradiated ceramics, the damage depth exceeds the estimated ion mean free path by 20-30%, depending on the irradiation fluence. The main mechanism of radiation damage is an increase in the dislocation density of defects and the formation of regions of disordering in the case of large doses. As a result of the simulation of accelerated aging processes, it was found that for irradiated samples the decrease in crack resistance does not exceed 10%. Studies have shown high values of the stability of silicon carbide ceramics to radiation damage to the surface layer.