EPAC will be capable of producing both neutron and proton beams with high energies that are sufficient to cause radiation damage to materials. This will allow EPAC to expose samples to radiation to further understand how radiation interacts with matter, assisting with the development of reactor materials and modelling approaches.
In the nuclear industry, materials used in fission and fusion processes are exposed to high fluxes of energetic neutrons that can degrade mechanical properties.
When these neutrons collide with atoms in materials such as metal, they knock a series of atoms out of the crystal structure forming an empty space and an interstitial atom. This is called displacement damage. As this damage accumulates and more and more atoms are knocked out of place, the crystal structure is degraded until it eventually disappears (becomes amorphous). This structural change has significant effects on the mechanical properties of the material and thus increases the risk of malfunction and failure.
EPAC will be capable of producing both neutron and proton beams at energies high enough to induce displacement damage. The addition of a second beamline in the future will enable samples to be exposed to damaging radiation while simultaneously being inspected using X-ray radiography and CT capabilities. EPAC will also be able to perform in situ testing by exposing samples to radiation while they are under simulated service conditions. This will contribute to the understanding of how radiation interacts with matter, assisting development of reactor materials and modelling approaches.