Study of Radiation Resistance of WO(3) Microparticles under Irradiation with Heavy Kr(15+) and Xe(22+) Ions

In this work, we consider the effect of irradiation with heavy Kr(15+) and Xe(22+) ions on the change in the structural and strength properties of WO(3) microparticles, which are among the candidates for inert matrix materials. Irradiation with heavy Kr(15+) and Xe(22+) ions was chosen to determine the possibility of simulation of radiation damage comparable to the impact of fission fragments. During the studies, it was found that the main changes in the structural properties with an increase in the irradiation fluence are associated with the crystal lattice deformation and its anisotropic distortion, which is most pronounced during irradiation with heavy Kr(15+) ions. An assessment of the gaseous swelling effect due to the radiation damage accumulation showed that a change in the ion type during irradiation leads to an increase in the swelling value by more than 8–10%. Results of strength changes showed that the most intense decrease in the hardness of the near-surface layer is observed when the fluence reaches more than 10(12) ion/cm(2), which is typical for the effect of overlapping radiation damage in the material. The dependences obtained for the change in structural and strength properties can later be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of refractory oxide materials for their use in the creation of inert matrices of nuclear fuel.