Hydrogen permeability of nickel and the OKh20N60B steel during the process of ion bombardment

Abstract

The envisaged service conditions of thermonuclear reactors (TNR) call for a number of stringent specifications on the structural materials (in particular, on the materials of the first wall of the reactors). Besides experiencing the action of intense neutron fluxes and electromagnetic radiation, these materials are subjected to powerful ion bombardment (deuterium, tritium, and helium), During neutron irradiation, a large quantity of hydrogen and helium forms in them due to the occurrence of the corresponding threshold nuclear reactions. Interaction of the introduced isotopes of hydrogen and helium with the radiational defects leads to the accumulation and redistribution of these gases in the structural materials and, finally, changes the physicomechanical characteristics of the structure (unit). In view of this, at the present time, a study of the behavior of hydrogen and helium in metals and alloys under the conditions simulating their service conditions in a TNR is extremely important from a practical standpoint.