A study of the high-temperature characteristics of a lanthanum dicarbide-carbon composite for RAON

Abstract

The change in the physical and chemical properties of a LaC2-2C disk (Ф: 50 mm, thickness: 1.3 mm), was investigated after a high temperature integrity tests (HTITs). The tests were conducted as precedent research to UCx, which is as an isotope separation on-line (ISOL) target material. The HTITs were performed under 10−6 Torr at three different temperatures (1600 °C, 1800 °C and 2000 °C) and two exposure times (24 h and 48 h). The microstructure and composition of the disks were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The density of the disks were also measured to calculate the porosity. The test results indicate that the LaC2-2C target disk satisfies the requirements for use as an ISOL target.