Effect of Deuterium Plasma Irradiation on V–Ga Alloys

Abstract

Indentation tests are used to investigate the effect of high-power nanosecond deuterium ion pulses (~100 keV, ~10¹⁰ W/cm²) and dense deuterium plasma (~100 eV, ~10⁷ W/cm²) generated by a Plasma Focus machine on the mechanical properties of vanadium-based alloys such as V–5Ti–5Cr, V–5Ga–5Cr, V–5Ga, and V–5Ga–0.1Ce. It is established that the V–Ga–Cr alloys have a higher resistance to embrittlement during radiation-thermal exposure than that of V–Ti–Cr alloys. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the structure of solid solution is retained in all investigated alloys after pulsed ion and plasma irradiation. No signs of solid solution decomposition and the precipitation of second phases are found. It is established that pulsed ion-plasma irradiation suppresses the rolling texture that is typical of the alloys in the initial state and decreases the lattice parameter of the alloys, which in the case of the V–Ga alloy can be explained by the escape of gallium from the recast surface layer. Doping with a rare earth element (cerium) increases the radiation resistance of the V–Ga alloy, which results in the stability of the mechanical properties and the lattice parameter after irradiation.