Radiation Resistance of Structural Materials

• I.I. Chernov, Dr. Sci. (Phys.-Math.), Professor, Head of the group
• M.S. Staltsov, PhD (Phys.-Math.), Associate Professor

• Radiation physics and technology; structural materials of nuclear reactors; helium and hydrogen in reactor structural materials; simulation studies of radiation damage in reactor structural materials

• ZEISS Libra-120 transmission electron microscope
• Leak detector

Systematic studies of the effect of crystal structure type and alloying on swelling resistance of new and existing reactor structural materials and vanadium alloys, for example:

• State assignment No. 3.483.2014/K: fabrication of oxide-dispersion-strengthened ferritic-martensitic steels by spark plasma sintering and study of their radiation damage compared with reactor austenitic steel (2014–2016).
• Scholarship of the President of the Russian Federation for young scientists (2016–2018): gas and vacancy porosity in advanced vanadium alloys under simulation irradiation with ions of various masses and energies.
• Contract No. 514 with the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan: synergistic effect of helium and neutron irradiation on the structure and mechanical properties of austenitic steel (2020).

Papers by the group staff (from Crossref and OpenAlex).

2026

• Microstructure of dysprosium hafnate after sequential irradiation with heavy and light ions.
  Staltsov M., Shornikov D., Tenishev A., Chernov I., Urusov A., Mokrushin A., Risovaniy V., Chuvikov S., Petrov E.
  Advances in Nuclear Science and Applications, 2026, vol. 2(1), pp. 61-78. doi:10.63907/ansa.v2i1.73
• Microstructure of Gd-doped dysprosium hafnate after irradiation with light and heavy ions.
  Staltsov M.S., Shornikov D.P., Prokhorova M.D., Chuvikov S.V., Urusov A.A., Mokrushin A.A., Risovaniy V.D.
  Advances in Nuclear Science and Applications, 2026, vol. 2(2), pp. 139-153. doi:10.63907/ansa.v2i2.87

2025

• Microstructure evolution of 18Cr10Ni-Ti-modified steel after heavy ions irradiation.
  Staltsov M.S., Chernov I.I., Emelyanova O.V., Khmelenin D.N., Dikov A.S., Ivanov I.A.
  Journal of Materials Science, 2025, vol. 61(2), pp. 1261-1279. doi:10.1007/s10853-025-11930-2
• Microstructure of ferritic-martensitic steel irradiated by krypton ions.
  Staltsov M.S.
  Химическая физика / Advances in Chemical Physics, 2025, vol. 44(6), art. 67. doi:10.7868/30180-1

2024

• Protective Coatings on Hafnium Hydride and Their Effect on Its Thermal Decomposition.
  Shornikov D.P., Mikhalchik V.V., Ivanov G.A., Tenishev A.V., Staltsov M.S., Samotaev N.N., Bratsuk A.V., Kovtun S.Y., Polunin K.K., Urusov A.A.
  Physics of Atomic Nuclei, 2024, vol. 87(11), pp. 1573-1578. doi:10.1134/s1063778824100466

2023

• Behaviour of helium and hydrogen in vanadium alloys – innovative fusion reactor first wall materials: A Review.
  Chernov I.I., Staltsov M.S.
  Tsvetnye Metally, 2023, pp. 70-76. doi:10.17580/tsm.2023.07.09
• Behaviour of helium and hydrogen in vanadium alloys – innovative fusion reactor first wall materials: a review. Part 2. Alloys of vanadium with chromium, tungsten, tantalum.
  Staltsov M.S., Chernov I.I.
  Tsvetnye Metally, 2023, pp. 56-64. doi:10.17580/tsm.2023.05.08

2022

• Behaviour of helium and hydrogen in vanadium alloys – innovative fusion reactor first wall materials: a review. Part 1. V – Ti and V – Fe alloys.
  Chernov I.I., Staltsov M.S.
  Tsvetnye Metally, 2022, pp. 65-72. doi:10.17580/tsm.2022.12.09

2021

• Effect of Implanted Helium on the Physicomechanical Properties of Armco Iron at the Temperatures of Manifestation of the Blue Brittleness Effect.
  Maksimkin O.P., Kalin B.A., Staltsov M.S., Chernov I.I.
  Inorganic Materials: Applied Research, 2021, vol. 12(3), pp. 588-591. doi:10.1134/s2075113321030266
• Surface evolution of the 18Cr10NiTi steel under irradiation by 98 Mev 56Fe10+ ions.
  Staltsov M.S., Chernov I.I., Dikov A.S., Ivanov I.A.
  Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, 2021, vol. 491, pp. 59-65. doi:10.1016/j.nimb.2021.01.008

2020

• Comparison of the Helium Porosity Parameters in Vanadium Alloy TEM Samples Prepared by Various Techniques.
  Stal’tsov M.S., Chernov I.I., Korshunov S.N., Lagov P.B.
  Russian Metallurgy (Metally), 2020, vol. 2020(3), pp. 206-211. doi:10.1134/s0036029520030143
• Ion implantation of helium and hydrogen in boron coatings.
  Karpikov A.N., Larionov A.S., Kislitsin S.B., Chernov I.I., Staltsov M.S., Dikov A.S., AkaeV S.O.
  IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 2020, vol. 1005(1), art. 012005. doi:10.1088/1757-899x/1005/1/012005
• Oxidation of boron-titanium thin film coating during cyclic tests on thermal shock.
  Suslov E.E., Larionov A.S., Kislitsin S.B., Chernov I.I., Staltsov M.S., Dikov A.S., Firsova V.V.
  IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 2020, vol. 1005(1), art. 012006. doi:10.1088/1757-899x/1005/1/012006
• The effect of neutron irradiation in a helium atmosphere on the mechanical properties of 18Cr10NiTi austenitic steel.
  Akaev S.O., Dikov A.S., Dikova L.A., Kislitsin S.B., Firsova V.V., Larionov A.S., Chernov I.I., Staltsov M.S.
  IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 2020, vol. 1005(1), art. 012007. doi:10.1088/1757-899x/1005/1/012007

2019

• Development of Gas Porosity along the Ion Range in Vanadium Alloys during Sequential Helium and Hydrogen Ion Irradiation.
  Stal’tsov M.S., Chernov I.I., Kalin B.A., Korshunov S.N., Lagov P.B.
  Russian Metallurgy (Metally), 2019, vol. 2019(11), pp. 1161-1166. doi:10.1134/s0036029519110119
• Features of Gas Porosity Formation Along Helium Ion Trajectories in Vanadium Alloys.
  Stal’tsov M.S., Chernov I.I., Korshunov S.N., Lagov P.B.
  Atomic Energy, 2019, vol. 126(1), pp. 46-51. doi:10.1007/s10512-019-00512-6
• On the theory of bubble coarsening in metals.
  Ovcharenko A.M., Chernov I.I.
  Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2019, vol. 528, art. 151824. doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.151824

2018

• Peculiarities of helium porosity evolution in the ferritic–martensitic steels produced by spark plasma sintering.
  Chernov I.I., Staltsov М.S., Kalin B.A., Bogachev I.A., Korshunov S.N.
  Nuclear Materials and Energy, 2018, vol. 16, pp. 249-257. doi:10.1016/j.nme.2018.07.010
• Yttrium Oxide Concentration Effect on Helium Porosity Formation in Oxide-Dispersion-Hardened Ferrite-Martensite Steel.
  Nikolaeva I.D., Stal’tsov M.S., Chernov I.I., Kalin B.A., Bogachev I.A., Guseva L.Y., Drozhzhina M.V., Belyaev A.A., Tishchenko A.G., Korshunov S.N.
  Atomic Energy, 2018, vol. 124(3), pp. 173-179. doi:10.1007/s10512-018-0393-6

2016

• Optimization of Electric-Pulse Consolidation Regimes to Obtain High-Density Dispersion-Hardened Reactor Steel.
  Bogachev I.A., Chernov I.I., Stal’tsov M.S., Kalin B.A., Olevskii E.A., Lebedeva L.Y., Nikitina A.A.
  Atomic Energy, 2016, vol. 120(1), pp. 37-43. doi:10.1007/s10512-016-0092-0
• Optimization of mechanical alloying and spark-plasma sintering regimes to obtain ferrite–martensitic ODS steel.
  Staltsov M.S., Chernov I.I., Bogachev I.A., Kalin B.A., Olevsky E.A., Lebedeva L.J., Nikitina A.A.
  Nuclear Materials and Energy, 2016, vol. 9, pp. 360-366. doi:10.1016/j.nme.2016.08.020

• Changes in chemical composition and surface structure of Kh18N10T steel under high-dose irradiation with 101 MeV Ni11+ ions. A.F. Filatkina, Specialist, 2021
• Microstructure evolution of Kh18N10T steel under high-dose irradiation with 101 MeV nickel ions. E.S. Musatkin, Specialist, 2021
• Changes in chemical composition and microstructure of Kh18N10T austenitic steel under high-dose irradiation with 98 MeV Fe10+ ions at 650 °C. I.A. Busygina, Specialist, 2020
• Effect of titanium on helium porosity formation in V–Ti and V–Cr–Ti alloys. Dinh Quoc Dat, Master, 2020
• Gas porosity formation along the ion range in vanadium alloys irradiated with helium and hydrogen ions. A.A. Belyaev, Master, 2018
• Vacancy and gas swelling and hydrogen behaviour in reactor ferritic-martensitic steels produced by various technologies. I.A. Bogachev, PhD (Phys.-Math.) dissertation, 2017
• Thermal and radiation creep of austenitic and ferritic-martensitic steels for long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel. A.S. Dikov, PhD (Eng.) dissertation, 2021

• Simulation studies of radiation resistance of reactor structural materials
• Helium in nuclear reactor structural materials
• Hydrogen in nuclear reactor structural materials
• Effect of alloying elements on helium and hydrogen behaviour in reactor structural materials

Four works of the group were recognised by the Scientific Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences on Radiation Solid State Physics as the most important results in the field for 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016. Professor I.I. Chernov and Associate Professor M.S. Staltsov supervise student research projects and theses in the group.