This thesis deals with complex analysis of fine-grained magnesium alloy AZ91 prepared by ECAP process. Mechanical properties of investigated alloy in different states at various external conditions are compared. The structure of this material is inherently unstable therefore changes on microstructural and sub-microstructural level occur during thermal exposure and/or mechanical loading. These changes are analysed and quantified for investigated alloy in selected states in this thesis.

Cemented carbide tools are subjected to high loads and temperatures during use. Long before any significant wear can occur on the tool, the material will experience plastic deformation. The purpose of this master thesis was to investigate how Kernel Average Misorientation (KAM) can be utilised to analyse plastic deformation within the microstructure or grains of cemented carbides. Six different cemented carbides were investigated. The materials were plastically deformed by utilizing cutting tests with a feed rate staircase method to induce the plastic deformation. Each material was characterised by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) either equipped with a secondary electron detector or an Electron Backscatter Diffraction detector (EBSD). This made it possible to investigate the WC grain size, Co infiltration, step formation, cavities and pores, KAM and the average grain size. It was concluded that KAM showed to be a valuable tool to visualise the plastic deformation in the materials. There were some limitations to KAM regarding materials with similar amounts of plastic deformation. Additionally, the data from KAM could be used to create graphs to more easily display the misorientation. However, KAM cannot showcase the mechanisms that lead to plastic deformation. Other characterisation methods are needed as a compliment to completely understand what is happening in the material on a microstructural level.

The aim of this work was to study the separate effect of fission fragment damage on the structural integrity and matrix dissolution of uranium dioxide in water. Radiation damage similar to fission damage was created by irradiating bulk undoped and doped ‘SIMFUEL’ disks of UO2, undoped bulk CeO2 and thin films of UO2 and CeO2 with high energy Xe and U ions. The UO2 thin films, with thicknesses in the range of 90 – 150 nm, were deposited onto (001), (110) and (111) orientations of single crystal LSAT (Al10La3O51Sr14Ta7) and YSZ (Yttria-Stabilised Zirconia) substrates. The CeO2 thin films were deposited onto single crystal silicon (001) substrates. Part of the bulk UO2 and CeO2 samples, the thin films of UO2 on the LSAT substrates and the thin films of CeO2 were irradiated with 92 MeV 129Xe23+ ions to a fluence of 4.8 × 1015 ions/cm2 to simulate the damage produced by fission fragments in uranium dioxide nuclear fuel. Part of the bulk UO2 and CeO2 samples and the thin films of UO2 on the YSZ substrates were irradiated with 110 MeV 238U31+ ions to a fluence of 5 × 1010, 5 × 1011 and 5 × 1012 ions/cm2 to study the accumulation of the damage induced. The irradiated and unirradiated samples were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), focused ion beam (FIB), atomic force microscopy (AFM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques to characterise the as-produced samples and assess the effects of the ion irradiations. Dissolution experiments were conducted to assess the effect of the Xe ion irradiation on the dissolution of the thin film UO2 samples on the LSAT substrates and the bulk and thin film CeO2 samples. The solutions obtained from the leaching of the irradiated and unirradiated samples were analysed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). XRD studies of the bulk UO2 samples showed that the ion irradiations resulted in an increased lattice parameter, microstrain and decreased crystallite size, as expected. The irradiated UO2 thin films on the LSAT substrates underwent significant microstructural and crystallographic rearrangements. It was shown that by irradiating thin films of UO2 with high energy, high fluence ions, it is possible to produce a structure that is similar to a thin slice through the high burn-up structure. It is expected that the ion irradiation induced chemical mixing of the UO2 films with the substrate elements (La, Sr, Al, Ta). As a result, a material similar to a doped SIMFUEL with induced radiation damage was produced.