Helium bubble evolution in ion irradiated Al/B4C metal metrix composite

• DOI: 10.1016/j.scriptamat.2015.07.011
• Publication Date: 2015-07-21T16:11:18Z
• Authors: Feifei Zhang; Xu Wang; Jonathan B. Wiers...; Lumin Wang
• Keywords: Liquid bubble; Field ion microscope; Metal matrix composite

Abstract Helium behavior in Al/B 4 C metal matrix composite with two different sets of ion irradiation conditions has been investigated by transmission electron microscopy. Helium bubbles in Al were found to be much larger than those in B 4 C after a helium fluence of 1.5 × 10 17 ions/cm 2 at the room temperature. Also, bubbles at grain boundaries and their vicinity in aluminum are faceted. With additional proton irradiation, a bubble denuded zone along the aluminum grain boundary appears. The results are discussed in terms of the energetics of the material system.