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New method could monitor corrosion and cracking in a nuclear reactor
A new technique developed at MIT enables real-time, 3D imaging of material failure processes inside a nuclear reactor environment. This could help scientists and engineers create materials that are more resilient to cracking and corrosion during irradiation, which could improve the safety and extend the lifespan of advanced nuclear reactors.
MIT researchers have developed a technique that enables real-time, 3D monitoring of corrosion, cracking, and other material failure processes inside a nuclear reactor environment. To do this, the researchers used a process called solid state dewetting, which involves putting a thin film of the material onto a substrate and heating it to an extremely high temperature in a furnace until it transforms into single crystals. However, the team was surprised to find that keeping the X-ray beam trained on the sample for a longer period of time caused the strain to slowly relax, due to the silicon buffer layer.
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