Heavy ion induced radiation effects in novel molybdenum-carbide graphite composite materials

Innovative molybdenum-carbide graphite (Mo-Gr) composites were specifically developed for high energy physics applications. These materials are showing a very promising combination of thermal, electrical, and mechanical properties for application in beam protection elements for high-power accelerators. To date very little is known about their structural and dimensional stability and about degradation of functional properties under irra- diation. Within the EU, FP7, EuCARD-2 project [1], an intense campaign for testing radiation hardness using different particle beams and energies is taking place at GSI Helmholtzzentrum as well as at Brookhaven National Laboratory (USA) and Kurchatov Institute ( Russia).