Reversible expansion of gallium-stabilized δ-plutonium

[摘要] It is shown that the transient expansion of plutonium-gallium alloys observed both in the lattice parairieter as well as in the dimension of a sample held at ambient temperature cart be explained by assuming incipient precipitation or Pu3Ga. However, this ordered zeta(')-phase is also subject to radiation-induced disordering. As a result, the gallium-stabilized delta-phase, being metastable at ambient temperature. is driven towards thermodynamic equilibrium by radiation-enhanced diffusion of gallium and at the same time reverted back to its metastable state by radiation-induced disordering. A steady state is reached in which only a modest fraction of the gallium present is arranged in ordered zeta(')-phase regions. Published by Elsevier BN.

[发布日期] 2006-12-15