A finite element study on the irradiation-induced mechanical behaviors of aluminum-matrix radiation-shielding composites

Aluminum-matrix radiation-shielding composites play a crucial role in advanced nuclear energy systems and fuel containers owing to their shielding design flexibility and desired structural compatibility. After being irradiated by neutrons, the shielding composites undergo irradiation damage and exhibit irradiation-induced mechanical effects such as irradiation hardening and embrittlement, which directly threaten the industrial application of the material. In this study, a finite element method was used to investigate the irradiation-induced mechanical behavior of radiation-shielding B₄C_P-W_P/Al composites. Using published data on the post-irradiation mechanical property evolutions of the matrix and shielding particles, and incorporating mechanisms of irradiation hardening and embrittlement, a finite element model was developed to describe the deformation of pristine and post-irradiation composites. Simulations of the post-irradiation mechanical properties of the aluminum-matrix radiation-shielding composites were conducted. The simulation results successfully reproduced the experimental findings for both the Al matrix and composites after irradiation. Furthermore, the stress-strain responses and deformation behaviors of the composites at different stages of irradiation damage are discussed. Finally, based on the simulation results, an artificial neural network was trained to efficiently predict the irradiation-induced mechanical behavior of the composites.