In this work, to assess the radiation damage of beryllium under low-temperature neutron irradiation, samples from beryllium grade TShG-200 with an oxide phase concentration of about 1 wt % were studied, which were kept in the IVG.1M research reactor for a long time and were irradiated to fluences 0.8–4·1020 neut./cm2. Also, unirradiated original witness samples of the same brand were tested to compare the results.The aim was to establish the level of radiation degradation of beryllium samples during their tests in the IVG.1M reactor. Mechanical tests for three-point bending and tension were performed to determine the strength of beryllium samples, and their microhardness was also measured. To determine the degree of swelling of the beryllium samples their densities were measured by the method of hydrostatic weighing in the medium of distilled water.According to the results of short-term bending and tensile tests, it was found that the beryllium material after reactor irradiation softens in the range of 9.3–16.7%. And the results of measuring the microhardness showed an increase of up to 23%. Density results did not reveal swelling of the samples after low-temperature neutron irradiation.After mechanical tests, special studies of fractures and microstructural analysis were carried out, which did not reveal noticeable changes in the microstructure of beryllium after irradiation.

This paper presents research results on the structural-phase state of a tungsten surface layer cross-section after carbidization in a beam-plasma discharge. Tungsten surface carbidization in a beam-plasma discharge was conducted in a plasma-beam installation (PBI). Research on the cross-section structure of the surface layer of tungsten samples after carbidization at temperatures of 1000 °C, 1200 °C, and 1400 °C was conducted using transmission and scanning electron microscopy. Based on the results of SEM studies, a multilayer EMF map and local elemental analysis were obtained, based on which the depth of penetration of carbon atoms into tungsten was evaluated. It is established that the penetration depth is ~20 µm. The surface layer fine structure was researched using TEM. For TEM analysis of the tungsten sample cross-section with a carbidized layer, sections were prepared by ion thinning using an Ion Slicer EM-09100 IS unit. According to the research results, it was revealed that after carbidization, tungsten is available in the surface layer mainly in the composition of carbides WC and W2C. On bright-field TEM images of the cross-section of the surface layer of tungsten samples after carbidization at a temperature of 1200 °C and 1400 °C, bending extinction contours are revealed, which indicate the elastically stressed state of the sample surface layer, which leads to bending-torsion of the foil.

The results of a study of the microstructure evolution of pre-mechanically activated elementary powders based on the Ti-25Al-25Nb (at.%) compositions differing in the particle size of the aluminum (Al) component are presented. It was found that during the mechanical activation, most of the Al was dissolved in the Ti and Nb lattices by interpenetration with the formation of solid solutions (Ti, Al) and (Nb, Al). It has been established that an increase in temperature to 1400 °C, when sintering powder materials based on the Ti-Al-Nb system, leads to a sharp increase in the temperature of Al particles, as a result of the melting of which it is impossible to control the phase formation, which ultimately leads to the difficulty of obtaining the required product. It was determined that in the process of spark-plasma sintering of mechanically activated compositions, intermetallic compounds are formed based on phases ‒ α2, B2 and O, and with an increase in the sintering temperature, their morphology and distribution in the alloy volume change.