Feasibility of Zircaloy as a fuel clad and structural material in an LAFR-LWR

A preliminary analysis of the radiation environment in a Linear Accelerator Fuel Regenerator (LAFR) has been made. The response of Zircaloy to this environment in combination with that in a Light Water Reactor (LWR) has been projected. It is concluded that the response to irradiation of Zircaloy in a combined LAFR-LWR cycle will lead to a more deleterious change of properties than for an equivalent LWR exposure

Analysis of radiation damage in fusion-simulation neutron spectra

Various parameters which are relevant to an understanding of radiation effects in metals have been evaluated utilizing available neutron spectrum information for several existing sources, e.g., EBRII, HFIR, and LAMPF, as well as the hypothetical spectrum at a fusion reactor first wall, and measured Li(d,n) spectra. Recoil energy distributions were calculated for several metals including Al, Cu, and Nb. The recoil energy range was divided into groups, and the fraction of recoils occurring in each energy group was compared with the fraction of the damage energy contributed by that group. From this comparison it was possible to conclude that the significant recoil range differs by about an order of magnitude between fission and fusion sources. The analysis further confirms that basic defect production characteristics depend upon the neutron spectrum, and that integral calculations of radiation-effect parameters do not provide a complete description of the dependence. This is equally true for comparisons between fusion-related spectra or fission-reactor spectra independently. Four recoil-dependent parameter functions which describe different aspects of radiation damage were used in the calculations. The relative effectiveness of neutron sources was found to depend upon the choice of parameter function. Fission-reactor spectra comparisons are relatively insensitive to the parameter functions used whereas spectra with an appreciable component of high-energy neutrons are much more sensitive. (auth

Twisted exchange interaction between localized spins embedded in a one- or two-dimensional electron gas with Rashba spin-orbit coupling

We study theoretically the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interaction in one- and two-dimensions in presence of a Rashba spin-orbit (SO) coupling. We show that rotation of the spin of conduction electrons due to SO coupling causes a twisted RKKY interaction between localized spins which consists of three different terms: Heisenberg, Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya, and Ising interactions. We also show that the effective spin Hamiltonian reduces to the usual RKKY interaction Hamiltonian in the twisted spin space where the spin quantization axis of one localized spin is rotated.Comment: 4pages, no figur

Weak Localization Effect in Superconductors by Radiation Damage

Large reductions of the superconducting transition temperature $T_{c}$ and the accompanying loss of the thermal electrical resistivity (electron-phonon interaction) due to radiation damage have been observed for several A15 compounds, Chevrel phase and Ternary superconductors, and $\rm{NbSe_{2}}$ in the high fluence regime. We examine these behaviors based on the recent theory of weak localization effect in superconductors. We find a good fitting to the experimental data. In particular, weak localization correction to the phonon-mediated interaction is derived from the density correlation function. It is shown that weak localization has a strong influence on both the phonon-mediated interaction and the electron-phonon interaction, which leads to the universal correlation of $T_{c}$ and resistance ratio.Comment: 16 pages plus 3 figures, revtex, 76 references, For more information, Plesse see http://www.fen.bilkent.edu.tr/~yjki

DT fusion neutron radiation strengthening of copper and niobium

The initial results of a comparative study of the radiation strengthening and damage structures produced in Cu and Nb by D-T fusion and fission reactor neutrons are described. The radiation strengthening produced by a given fluence of fusion neutrons above about 10$sup 17$n/cm$sup 2$ is equal to that produced by a fluence of fission reactor neutrons (E greater than 0.1 MeV) ten times as great. This difference is about twice as large as would be expected if the strengthening scaled with damage energy or dpa. Initial transmission electron microscopy observations of the damage structures in fusion and fission reactor neutron irradiated copper indicate that the same type of primary structural defects, vacancy and interstitial point defect clusters and small dislocation loops with a/3 (111) and a/2 (110) Burgers vectors, are produced in both cases. The difference in the radiation strengthening produced by fusion and fission reactor neutrons in Cu appears to result from a substantially greater rate of accumulation of damage, in the form of point defect clusters, during irradiation with fusion neutrons than during irradiation with fission reactor neutrons plus a significant difference in the size and spatial distributions of the damage clusters. (auth

New developments in pulsed fields at the US National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory is a member of a consortium (with Florida State University and the University of Florida) to operate the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL), with funding from the National Science Foundation and the State of Florida. Los Alamos provides unique resources for its component of NHMFL in the form of a 1.4 GW inertial storage motor-generator for high field pulsed magnets and infrastructure for fields generated by flux compression. The NHMFL provides a user facility open to all qualified users, develops magnet technology in association with the private sector, and advances science and technology opportunities. The magnets in service at Los Alamos are of three types. Starting with the pre-existing explosive flux compression capability in 1991, NHMFL added capacitor-driven magnets in December, 1992, and a 20 tesla superconducting magnet in January, 1993. The capacitor-driven magnets continue to grow in diversity and accessibility, with four magnet stations now available for several different magnet types. Two magnets of unprecedented size and strength are nearing completion of assembly and design, respectively. Under final assembly is a quasi-continuous magnet that contains 90 MJ of magnetic energy at full field, and being designed is a non-destructive 100 T magnet containing 140 MJ