About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Phase Transformations and Microstructural Evolution
|
| Presentation Title |
Effects of Ion Irradiation on Microstructural Pathways and Mechanical Responses in a Refractory HfTiZrTa0.5 Alloy |
| Author(s) |
Sydney E. Copp, Siwei Chen, Yajie Zhao, Sicilia Christadore, Brennan Paterson, Carla Nocheseda, Eric Lass, Mason Phillips, David Donovan, Miguel Crespillo, Steven Zinkle |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Sydney E. Copp |
| Abstract Scope |
Compositionally complex alloys (CCAs) are promising structural material options for advanced reactor systems due to their complex atomistic makeup and multi-principal element design, which is hypothesized to enhance radiation tolerance. This study examines the irradiation response of HfTiZrTa0.5 alloy following 9 MeV copper ion irradiation at 400 oC and 800 oC to midrange doses of 1 and 10 dpa. Post-irradiation characterization via SEM, TEM, glancing-incidence x-ray diffraction, and nanoindentation revealed temperature-dependent and mechanistically distinct microstructural evolution. In contrast to conventional refractory alloys where irradiation damage is typically observed as high-density dislocation networks, HfTiZrTa0.5 exhibited no traditional dislocation-mediated damage structures, and instead accommodated damage through chemically driven restructuring and phase redistribution. Preliminary nanoindentation results indicate irradiation-enhanced mechanical evolution correlated with the observed microstructural transformations. Understanding the behavior of these materials under environmental extremes provides insight into their viability as nuclear structural materials. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
High-Entropy Alloys, Nuclear Materials, Mechanical Properties |