Review of Radiation Embrittlement of Aluminum Alloys Used in Research Reactors

Research reactors are generally built from aluminum alloys during the last century. Most of the operation times of them already exceed the design lifetime. The original mechanical properties change during service. The radiation embrittlement affects them through three mechanisms: the transmutation of aluminum to silicon caused by thermal neutrons, gases (hydrogen, helium) occur by fast neutron transmutation, causing swelling, and matrix defects (dislocations, voids) occur by fast neutron irradiation. This paper summarizes the existing knowledge of the radiation degradation of aluminum alloys.