LAUSR

AbstractComposites formed by SiC fiber reinforcement of a SiC matrix are materials of interest for use in high temperature, high strength, and high irradiation condition applications. These materials have been considered for use in both fusion and fission reactors due to their excellent physical and neutronic properties. Recent attention has focused on such materials’ ability to act as accident-tolerant fuel cladding in light water reactors. The work presented herein studies the swelling behavior of these materials using a novel rapid helium-ion implantation approach. Localized helium implantation was conducted to a dose of 5 × 1017 ions/cm2 in fibers and matrix independently. The results showed that the height increase measured using atom force microscopy (AFM) was significantly less for the fibers than the matrix, potentially due to their finer microstructure.