Effect of radiation on bulk swelling of plutonium alloys

Several studies show that plutonium alloys present bulk swelling. More precisely, length (as measured by dilatometry) and lattice parameter (as measured by X-ray diffraction) increase with time and seems to reach saturation after a few months for the microscopic scale. This bulk swelling can be correlated to self-induced radiation due to the decay of the different plutonium isotopes (238Pu, 239Pu, 241Pu and 242Pu) which also induce helium that tends to forms clusters, then bubbles. Many experimental and theoretical results have already been published on this topic. The goal of this paper is to review some of the results and to propose a strategy for both experiments and modelling to try to answer some of the remaining questions regarding swelling and more generally self-irradiation defects in plutonium alloys.