Stored energy release in neutron irradiated silicon carbide

The purpose of this investigation is to experimentally quantify the stored energy release upon thermal annealing of previously irradiated high-purity silicon carbide (SiC.) Samples of highly-faulted polycrystalline CVD β-SiC and single crystal 6H–SiC were irradiated in a mixed spectrum fission reactor near 60 °C in a fluence range from 5 × 10²³ to 2 × 10²⁶ n/m² (E > 0.1 MeV), or about 0.05–20 dpa, in order to quantify the stored energy release and correlate the release to the observed microscopic swelling, lattice dilation, and microstructure as observed through TEM. Within the fluence of this study the crystalline material was observed to swell to a remarkable extent, achieving 8.13% dilation, and then cross a threshold dose for amorphization at approximately 1 × 10²⁵ n/m² (E > 0.1 MeV) Once amorphized the material attains an as-amorphized swelling of 11.7% at this irradiation condition. Coincident with the extraordinary swelling obtained for the crystalline SiC, an equally impressive stored energy release of greater than 2500 J/g at the critical threshold for amorphization is inferred. As expected, following amorphization the stored energy in the structure diminishes, measured to be approximately 590 J/g. Generally, the findings of stored energy are consistent with existing theory, though the amount of stored energy given the large observed crystalline strain is remarkable. The overall conclusion of this work finds comparable stored energy in SiC to that of nuclear graphite, and similar to graphite, a stored energy release in excess of its specific heat in some irradiation conditions.