Small-scale mechanical testing on nuclear materials: bridging the experimental length-scale gap

Small-scale mechanical testing on irradiated materials is gaining popularity in the nuclear materials community due to the fact that mechanical property changes can be evaluated from shallowly ion-beam-irradiated materials as well as from small volumes of reactor-irradiated components. While the obvious benefits of accelerated research and reduction of radiation exposure are gained through these methods, these methods also target specific microstructural areas of interest. This paper presents a summary of current techniques that are utilized and outlines a path towards a more thorough understanding of small volume testing on irradiated materials. (C) 2017 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.