Stress-induced deuterium redistribution in V, Nb and Ta metals

Abstract

Stress-induced deuterium redistribution in V, Nb and Ta are examined through in situ measurements of the near surface deuterium concentration using the elastic recoil detection (ERD) technique. Irradiation by the analyzing beam influences the deuterium distribution; the deuterium concentration near the damaged region increases as a consequence of possible interaction of deuterium atoms with radiation-induced defects. The stress-induced change in the deuterium distribution is evaluated under the assumption that the deuterium atoms trapped by the radiation induced defects do not contribute to the redistribution. After correction for the irradiation effects, the deuterium concentration of the near surface region are fitted to the relationship between deuterium concentration change and the applied stress to determine the partial molar volume of deuterium, V D . The values of V D deduced from the present measurements are 1.8, 1.8 and 1.3±0.5 cm 3/mol. in V, Nb and Ta, respectively, and almost coincide with the values obtained from lattice parameter measurements.