Radiation-induced defects in solid solutions and intermetallic compounds based on the Ni-Al system: I. Low-temperature electron-irradiation damage

Abstract

The effect of alloy composition on radiation damage by 2.95 MeV electrons at low temperature has been investigated in Ni(Al) and Ni(Al,Ti) solid solutions and in Ni3Al intermetallic compounds (24.6-26.5 at.% Al) by residual electrical resistivity measurements. In the solid solutions the main result of irradiation was point-defect production. Frenkel-pair resistivities, deduced from the comparative analysis of the initial damage rates in the solid solutions and in pure nickel, were 6.5-9.4 mu Omega cm/%, similar to or slightly larger than the value of nickel. In Ni3Al intermetallic compounds, the resistivity damage rates were enhanced by a factor of about 15 compared with pure nickel. Disordering contributes only a small part of the increase. Assuming an average of 3+or-1 replacements per displacement, a comparison of the initial damage rates in nickel and in the compounds leads to Frenkel-pair resistivities ranging from 97 to 109 mu Omega cm/%. Such high values may be correlated with the large ideal resistivity of these materials.