J. Koike et Df. Pedraza, DIMENSIONAL CHANGES IN HIGHLY ORIENTED PYROLYTIC-GRAPHITE DUE TO ELECTRON-IRRADIATION, Journal of materials research, 9(7), 1994, pp. 1899-1907
One of the main problems found in the nuclear applications of graphite
is its dimensional instability under irradiation, involving both swel
ling and shape changes. In order to understand better the mechanisms t
hat give rise to these changes, highly oriented pyrolytic graphite was
irradiated with 300 keV electrons at temperatures between 25 and 657-
degrees-C in a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Microscopic dim
ensional changes and structural disordering were studied in directions
parallel and perpendicular to the graphite basal plane. Changes in th
e specimen length were investigated by measuring the distance between
two markers on the specimen surface in TEM images. Changes in the latt
ice parameter and the crystalline structure were studied by a TEM diff
raction technique. In agreement with reported results, large increases
in the specimen length and the lattice parameter were observed along
the c-axis direction, whereas a relatively small decrease was observed
along the a-axis. In irradiation studies conducted at room temperatur
e, it was found that the dimensional change saturates at high dose, at
an elongation along the c-axis direction of about 300%. High resoluti
on microscopy revealed that the microstructure had become nanocrystall
ine. Electron energy loss spectroscopy results showed that the volume
change was recovered at this stage. These observations are discussed i
n terms of point defect evolution and its effects on the microstructur
e of irradiated graphite.