Experimental Studies of Radiation-Protective Properties of a Modified Titanium Hydride

The results of experimental studies of the protective properties of titanium hydride with respect to neutron and gamma radiation in order to determine the optimal conditions for their use in the composition of the structural radiation protection of the nuclear reactor are presented. The weakening of the basic functionals in the thickness of protection, including the density of fast, intermediate and thermal neutrons, and the dose rate of gamma radiation is established. The functions of weakening the density of neutron flow and the dose rate of gamma radiation are measured in the conditions of "barrier" geometry. Determination of the protective properties of the structure was carried out when the modified titanium hydride fraction was placed in aluminum containers with a filling coefficient of a volume of container 0.63. The relaxation lengths for all neutron groups are close and on average are 9.8 cm. The functions of weakening the dose rate of gamma radiation of point sources Cs-137 and Co-60 are exponential. The weakening of radiation occurs with a constant relaxation length. For energy 0.661 MeV, the relaxation length is 7.1 cm, for energy 1.25 MeV, the relaxation length is equal to 10.1 cm. On the basis of the experimental studies, the high efficiency of the modified fraction of titanium hydride was confirmed during its use in protecting nuclear power plants.

Effect of electrochemical modification of titanium hydride fraction on oxygen content in surface and deep layers

The paper presents a study of the microstructure and oxygen concentration in the surface and deep layers of fractions of unmodified titanium hydride and titanium hydride modified by electrodeposited layers of Ti and Cu at temperatures of 300-900 ° C. The composition of the oxide layer and the concentration of titanium and oxygen atoms are estimated. It is shown that an increase in the thickness and compaction of the oxide layer with increasing temperature prevents the penetration of oxygen into the deep layers of the unmodified fraction of titanium hydride. Modification of titanium hydride by electrochemical deposition of metallic titanium at a temperature of 700 °C reduces the oxygen concentration in titanium hydride at a layer depth of 50 μm from 35 wt% to 12.5 wt%. Electrodeposition of coatings based on titanium and copper at 700 °C reduces the oxygen concentration to 9.2 wt%, which may be due to the protective mechanism of the formed copper titanate layer. At 900 °C, in the modification layer based on titanium and copper, due to the eutectoid transformation of the β-phase of titanium, the process of contact melting occurs and a multiphase zone is formed. The oxygen concentration at a layer depth of 50 μm is no more than 12.4 wt%.

Increasing the Adherence of Metallic Copper to the Surface of Titanium Hydride

Studies have been carried out to increase the adhesive interaction between a titanium hydride substrate and a copper coating. An additional layer containing chemically active groups was created on the surface of the spherical titanium hydride by chemisorption modification. This paper discusses the results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopic mapping of coatings obtained on spherical granules of titanium hydride before and after adsorption modification. The mechanism of interaction of the surface of spherical granules of titanium hydride and titanium sulfate salt is proposed. It is shown that the creation of a chemisorbed layer of hydroxotitanyl and the subsequent electrodeposition of metallic copper contribute to the formation of a multilayer shell of a titanium–copper coating on the surface of spherical titanium hydride granules (≡Ti-O-Cu-) with a high adhesive interaction. Results have been given for an experimental study of the thermal stability of the initial spherical granules of titanium hydride and granules coated with a multilayer titanium-copper shell.

Comparative Study on Cold Compaction Behavior of TiH2 Powder and HDH-Ti Powder

The compaction mechanism of titanium hydride powder is an important issue because it has a direct impact on density and strength of green compacts and ultimately on the physical and mechanical properties of a final sintered products. In this paper, the characteristics and compaction behavior of titanium hydride and hydrogenation-dehydrogenation titanium powders are comparatively studied and analyzed for better understanding of compaction mechanism of brittle low-strength titanium hydride. The results indicate that the particles of titanium hydride powder are easily crushed under compaction loading at relatively low pressure well below compression strength of bulk titanium hydride, the degree of particle crushed increases with the increase of pressure. The compaction behavior of titanium hydride powder mainly includes the rearrangement and crushing of particles in the early compaction stage, minor plastic deformation, if any, and further rearrangement of particle fragments with filling the pores in the later stage. Such compaction behavior provides relative density of green hydride compacts higher than that for titanium powder of the same size. The relatively coarse titanium hydride powder with wide particle size distribution is easier to fill the pores providing highest green density.