THE EFFECT OF THE EXTERNAL MEDIUM ON THE STRUCTURAL-PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS OF QUARTZITE UPON HIGH-ENERGY ELECTRON IRRADIATION

The structural transformations of the natural quartzite under the electron irradiation in doses range of 10(7) ... 10(8) Gy in various medium were studied using IR-spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and crystal-optical analyzes. It was established that under the irradiation, both in air and in a water stream, intense crystallization of the amorphous component occurs, which is siliceous cement. The initial crystal structure of quartzite is also improved as a result of radiation annealing of defects and impurities present in the initial quartz. It was found that the water medium significantly accelerates these processes, however, in the studied doses range for both types of irradiation, degradation of the quartzite crystal structure is not observed.