Traditional and single shielding material has not satisfied the demand for radiation protection. Shielding materials with a good comprehensive performance have attracted attention. W–Ni–Fe alloys with different Ni/Fe ratios have been prepared through liquid phase sintering using W, Ni and Fe elementary powders. The microstructure, morphology and fracture appearance of such prepared W–Ni–Fe alloys with different Ni/Fe ratios were analysed with the SEM and metallographic test. The effects of the Ni/Fe ratio on the density, microhardness, tensile strength and shielding efficiency were investigated. The results show that for W–Ni–Fe alloys with different Ni/Fe ratios, the alloy surfaces are composed of ellipsoidal W particles on a Ni–Fe substrate. However, when the Ni/Fe ratio is 7:3, uniform and spherical W crystals are embedded in the Ni–Fe substrate and evidently form dense boundaries, which contribute to the good mechanical properties and shielding effect of the alloy.

Carbon/polymer-based flexible electrothermal films, as a Joule heating material with excellent electrothermal properties, good formability, and lightweight, are a very needed material in aircraft wing de-icing systems, flexible electric heating elements, and low-voltage wearable devices. In this study, a series of flexible electrically heated films were successfully prepared using polyimide (PI) as the film-forming substrate and graphene (GE) as the conductive filler. The effects of graphene content on the morphology, microstructure, and electrothermal properties, as well as the mechanical flexibility of the electrothermal films, were systematically investigated. The results showed that the GE/PI electrothermal films not only retained the good electrical conductivity of graphene but also had the excellent mechanical properties and high heat resistance of polyimide. The electric heating film with the addition of 8 wt. % GE can quickly reach 390 °C at 24 V with uniform temperature distribution, and the mass loss at 500 °C is only 0.98 wt. %. A wide range of applications exist in fields such as flexible electric heating elements.

This study investigates the radiation damage and radiation reinforcement of the control and sensing systems of nuclear robots. Radiation experiments were conducted on key electronic devices to study their radiation resistance, and a shielding structure for radiation reinforcement was designed to meet the radiation resistance performance requirements of the system. The results show that at doses exceeding 1300 Gy, Hall sensors, pressure transducers, and temperature transducers exhibit radiation damage. At doses exceeding 170 Gy, transformers and controllers also show radiation damage. Lithium batteries remain largely unaffected, but packs experience voltage decline. When using Pb and W as shielding materials for Super MC simulation, it was found that at a thickness of 15 mm, the shielding efficiency of the controller and transformer under Pb shielding increased by approximately 84.99% and 52.00%, respectively, compared to 92.23% and 74.47% under W, which had the best shielding effect benefits. By adopting radiation-resistant shielding reinforcement, we can effectively improve the radiation resistance of the controller and transformer. This is crucial for ensuring the reliable operation of nuclear robots in high-radiation environments and providing important data and theoretical support for the development of related technologies.

High precision parts have been widely used in automobile, aerospace, medical and other fields. Conventional machining methods are difficult to meet the requirements of the high-quality requirements of components, including shape precision, dimensional accuracy, surface finish and surface integrity. Using milling instead of grinding can significantly improve machining efficiency of ultra-precision parts for difficult cut materials, especially high hardness SKD11 hardened steel. To improve the surface quality and the processing surface integrity of the parts, high-speed milling (HSM) can be able to meet the high-quality requirements of components. However, the quality of finish HSM is difficult to control through experiments. Therefore, the modified flow stress model of SKD11 hardened steel based on SHPB experimental is adopted to simulate the high-speed finish milling in this paper. The effect of cutting parameters on chip formation, cutting temperature, stress and cutting force of SKD11 are analyzed. Compared with the experimental data of cutting force of different cutting parameters, the simulation results are the same as the measured data. The results show that the model can predict the performance of the SKD11 high-speed finish milling process accurately.

The isothermal steam oxidation behavior of the Zr−Sn−Nb alloy at 1050 °C was studied. In this study, the oxidation weight gain of Zr−Sn−Nb samples with oxidation durations ranging from 100 s to 5000 s was calculated. The oxidation kinetic properties of the Zr−Sn−Nb alloy were obtained. The macroscopic morphology of the alloy was directly observed and compared. The microscopic surface morphology, cross-section morphology, and element content of the Zr−Sn−Nb alloy were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS). According to the results, the cross-sectional structure of the Zr−Sn−Nb alloy consisted of ZrO₂, α-Zr(O), and prior-β. During the oxidation process, its weight gain versus oxidation time curve followed a parabolic law. The thickness of the oxide layer increases. Micropores and cracks gradually appear on the oxide film. Similarly, the thicknesses of ZrO₂ and α-Zr versus oxidation time were in accordance with the parabolic law.

Zirconium alloys are essential materials for nuclear fuel cladding. During a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA), zirconium alloy cladding can oxidize in high-temperature steam (>1000 °C), generating hydrogen and releasing significant heat. Without timely emergency actions, this can result in hydrogen explosions or nuclear leakage. In this study, titanium nitride (TiN), chromium (Cr), and TiN–Cr composite coatings were deposited on the surface of Zr-4 alloy using the magnetron sputtering method. The coatings’ surface and cross-sectional morphologies were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and their phase structures were analyzed with X-ray diffraction (XRD). The mechanical properties were evaluated using scratch tests, and their resistance to high-temperature steam oxidation was tested in a tube furnace connected to a steam generator. The results showed that the TiN, Cr, and TiN–Cr coatings exhibited strong adhesion to the Zr-4 substrates, with distinct interfaces and pure phase structures. After high-temperature steam oxidation, cracks appeared on the surfaces of the TiN, Cr, and TiN–Cr coatings, likely due to differences in the thermal expansion coefficients of TiO₂, Cr₂O₃, and residual Cr layers. These cracks created pathways for the oxidizing medium, potentially leading to the oxidation of the substrate or inner layers of the composite coatings. For the Cr and TiN–Cr coatings, despite cracking of the Cr layer and melting of the TiN layer at high temperatures, the residual Cr layer effectively restricted oxygen diffusion into the Zr-4 substrate. This study suggests that layers with low melting points, such as TiN, are unsuitable for composite coatings in high-temperature applications. However, adding a Cr layer on top of the TiN layer to form a TiN–Cr composite coating improves adhesion between the coating and the substrate. The TiN–Cr composite coating functions as an effective diffusion barrier at temperatures up to 1200 °C, comparable to a pure Cr coating.