Radiation exposure can promote self-healing of some metals

Everyone knows that radiation has a devastating effect on various materials and objects.

Radiation was beneficial

However, the research team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was very surprised when during the next a series of experiments found that radiation actually helps some materials self-repair. Thereby extending their service life.

As you know, radiation directly in nuclear reactors is an accelerator of the corrosion process of almost all materials. And this leads to an accelerated failure of the main units of the installation.

Imagine the surprise of scientists when, during the experiment, it was found that in the study of certain alloys of nickel and chromium, radiation, on the contrary, made the metals more resistant to corrosion.

Research has focused on certain types of reactors that use molten sodium, potassium and lithium salts as the coolant.

This hot alloy has a devastating effect on metal alloys with which it has direct contact.

But it was found that if the material was irradiated with radiation from a proton accelerator, then the molten salt took twice as long for corrosion to form.

The experiment was carried out several dozen times and in each of them the result was exactly the same.

Using transmission electron microscopy, the engineers were able to see what happens to the alloy when it comes into contact with a saline solution at 650 degrees Celsius.

It was found that radiation creates numerous microscopic surface defects on the metal, which allows the atoms of the alloy to move more easily.

This means that they (atoms) can quickly fill the flaws formed by the caustic salt. Generally speaking, radiation gives the alloy the ability to self-repair.

What does this discovery give

The discovered phenomenon will make it possible to more accurately calculate the replacement time for certain power plants, existing reactors and make more accurate calculations of future power plants.

The scientific group published the result of their experiments on the pages of the journal Nature Communications.

If you liked the article, then put your thumbs up and subscribe. Thank you for your attention!