PNNL

Abstract

Aged erbium tritide foil specimens are found to contain five distinctly different microstructural features. The general structure was of large columnar grains of ErT2. But on a fine scale, precipitates believed to be erbium oxy-tritides and helium bubbles could be identified. The precipitate size was in the range of ~10 nm and the bubbles were of an unusual planar shape on {111} planes with an invariant thickness of ~1 nm and a diameter on the order of 10 nm. Also, an outer layer containing no fine precipitate structure and only a few helium bubbles was present on foils. This layer is best described as a denuded zone which probably grew during aging in air. Finally, large embedded Er2O3 particles were found at low density and non-uniformly distributed, but sometimes extending through the thickness of the foil. A failure mechanism allowing the helium to escape is suggested by observed cracking between bubbles closer to end of life.