International audienceRadiation induced segregation in ferritic Fe-Cr alloys is studied by Atomistic Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations that include diffusion of chemical species by vacancy and interstitial migration, recombination, and elimination at sinks. The parameters of the diffusion model are fitted to DFT calculations. Transport coefficients that control the coupling between diffusion of defects and chemical species are measured in dilute and concentrated alloys. Radiation induced segregation near grain boundaries is directly simulated with this model. We find that the diffusion of vacancies toward sinks leads to a Cr depletion. Meanwhile, the diffusion of self-interstitials causes an enrichment of Cr in the vicinity of sinks. For concentrations lower than 15%Cr, we predict that sinks will be enriched with Cr for temperatures lower than a threshold. When the temperature is above this threshold value, the sinks will be depleted in Cr. These results are compared to previous experimental studies and models. Cases of radiation induced precipitation and radiation accelerated precipitation are considered. (c) 2015 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

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Nonequilibrium chemical redistribution in open systems submitted to external forces, such as particle irradiation, leads to changes in the structural properties of the material, potentially driving the system to failure. Such redistribution is controlled by the complex interplay between the production of point defects, atomic transport rates, and the sink character of the microstructure. In this work, we analyze this interplay by means of a kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) framework with an underlying atomistic model for the Fe-Cr model alloy to study the effect of ideal defect sinks on Cr concentration profiles, with a particular focus on the role of interface density. We observe that the amount of segregation decreases linearly with decreasing interface spacing. Within the framework of the thermodynamics of irreversible processes, a general analytical model is derived and assessed against the KMC simulations to elucidate the structure-property relationship of this system. Interestingly, in the kinetic regime where elimination of point defects at sinks is dominant over bulk recombination, the solute segregation does not directly depend on the dose rate but only on the density of sinks. This model provides new insight into the design of microstructures that mitigate chemical redistribution and improve radiation tolerance.