Reduction of surface erosion caused by helium blistering: Microstructural effects

Abstract

An attempt has been made to determine if a suitable microstructure (e.g., grain size, dispersion of oxide particles in a metal matrix) of a material can be found to reduce the helium buildup and subsequent blistering in near-surface regions. A comparison of the surface erosion due to helium blistering in aluminum and sintered aluminum powder (SAP) has been made for irradiation at room temperature with 100-keV He+ ions to a dose of 1.0 C/cm2. The results show high reduction in erosion rate in SAP by more than 3 orders of magnitude as compared to the erosion rate in pure aluminum.