Self-Healing Materials

Self-healing materials could lead to safer nuclear reactors after suffering radiation-induced damage

One of the key challenges when designing nuclear reactors is finding materials that can withstand the massive temperatures, radiation, physical stress and corrosive conditions of these extreme environments. Exposure to high radiation alone produces significant damage at the nanoscale, so scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, have been working on a mechanism that allows nanocrystalline materials to heal themselves after suffering radiation-induced damage. This gives hope for materials that will improve the reliability, safety and lifespan of nuclear energy systems.

The nanocrystalline materials the scientists have been working on are those created from nanosized particles, in this case from copper. A single nanosized grain is the size of a virus or even smaller. Nanocrystalline materials comprise a mixture of grains and the interface between those grains, called grain boundaries.

Gizmag