PW scientists co-create new radiation-resistant material

An international team of researchers has developed a new, extremely radiation-resistant material that could revolutionize the design of structural components such as. in thermonuclear fusion reactors. Researchers from the Warsaw University of Technology participated in the work.

One of the mainównych problemóin technology in the nuclear power industry are structural materials, whichóre gradually destroyed under the influence of continuous radiation. This could change the use in future reactor designsóin nuclear – so-called. alloyóIn high entropy, that is, highly disordered atomsów.

This is a new class of materialóin, whichóre consisted of four or more componentsów with similar concentrations of. These alloys are characterized by high configurational entropy, exceptional microstructure and unique properties.

The developed alloy with high entropy W-Ta-Cr-V (tungsten, tantalum, chromium, vanadium) is extremely resistant to radiation and retains excellent mechanical properties at the same time. For this reason, the material is an attractive candidate for use in structural components of future reactoróin nuclear or thermonuclear fusion – We read on the website of the Foundation for Polish Science, whichóra funded the work of Polish researchers.

Researchers from the Department of Materials Engineering at Warsaw University of Technology, led by Dr. Ing. Jan Wróbla. Poles were responsible for creating the theoretical model thatóry elucidated the reason for the separation of phases with increased atomic content in the alloyów vanadium and chromium. The results of the research were published in the journal „Science Advances”.

– Due to the huge number of possible combinations, zaróthe selection of elementalóin as well as their concentrations, experimental testing of all combinations of alloysów is not possible. Therefore, these materials are still little understood. Headóhe primary goal of our research is to understand how theób atomic ordering and basic properties of the alloyóIn dependence on the concentrations of the individualólnych elementsóin and from temperature,” said Dr. Eng. Jan Wróbel.

.Polish researchers have created a model thatóry combines computational methods based on quantum mechanics with statistical methods. With it, scientists were able to show that there is a strong tendency of attraction between vanadium and chromium atoms in the W-Ta-Cr-V alloy, które is the cause of the separation of phases with an increased content of atomicóin vanadium and chromium, observed experimentally by participating scientistscóD. from the US.

– What’s more, computer simulations carried out systematically over a wide range of concentrations and temperatures may contribute to finding the optimal alloy composition, który could potentially have even better properties than the one described in our publication,” added Dr. Ing. Jan Wróbel.