Self‐Radiation Damage in Curium‐244 Oxide and Aluminate
- 1 October 1971
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of the American Ceramic Society
- Vol. 54 (10) , 475-479
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1151-2916.1971.tb12182.x
Abstract
Self‐radiation from α‐decay of 244Cm causes lattice swelling, phase transformations, and loss of structure in several Cm compounds. In Cm oxides, the percentage swelling at saturation decreases with decreasing symmetry: Swelling in fluorite (fee) CmO2 (∼0.3%) is approximately twice that in bee C‐type Cm2O3; monoclinic Cm2O3 does not swell. CmO2 swells with time according to Δa/α=3.0×10−3(1–e−1.7×104λt), essentially the same relation as for PuO2 and AmO2. The rate of structure loss of Cm oxides decreases with increasing temperature of prior heatings. In CmAlO3 the metamict state is produced before swelling reaches saturation. Radiation‐induced transformation at room temperature produces metastable phases that normally exist at higher temperatures, e.g. bcc C‐type Cm2O3 transforms to hexagonal A‐type Cm2O3, and rhombohedral CmAlO3 becomes cubic.Keywords
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