Microstructures of Irradiated Materials

Book excerpt: Treatise on Materials Science and Technology, Volume 7: Microstructures of Irradiated Materials covers the effects of irradiation on the microstructures of solids. The book introduces basic concepts and terminology and discusses the physical effects of irradiation, those having to do with the physical displacement of atoms and the subsequent atom rearrangements that can occur either by momentum transfer or by diffusional phenomena. The text also describes the chemical effects of irradiation, including diffusion, phase changes, precipitation of solute atoms, transmutations, and combinations of these. Some of the complex situations encountered in some nuclear fuels and structural materials of practical concern are also encompassed. Metallurgists, metallurgical engineers, ceramists, materials scientists, and people interested in the nuclear field will find the book invaluable.