New ceramic stands up to radiation
A new ceramic, technically yttria-stabilized zirconia, could be our answer to storing radioactive waste in the future.
You can see on the left the effects of radiation on two materials. “In yttria-stabilized zirconia (top), the defects produced by radiation are few and far between, having less impact on the properties of the material. In zircon (bottom), the defects are clustered, which could compromise the material’s integrity.” (Credit: PNNL) Here is a link to a larger version of this figure.
This research project has been led at PNNL by scientists Ram Devanathan and William Weber. Here are some of their comments about this research project. “‘If you want a material to withstand radiation over millennia, you can’t expect it to just sit there and take it. There must be a mechanism for self-healing,’ said Devanathan. ‘This research raises the possibility of engineering mobile defects in ceramics to enhance radiation tolerance,’ Weber said. He noted that materials capable of handling high-radiation doses also ‘could improve the durability of key equipment and reduce the costs of replacements.’”
So far it seems that this material is still in the ‘theoretical’ stage but with nuclear energy quickly making a comeback, the need for a material like this is definitely there.
