Based on ab initio calculations, a Finnis-Sinclair-type interatomic potential for W-W interactions has been developed. The modified potential is able to reproduce the correct formation energies of self-interstitial atom defects in tungsten, offering a significant improvement over the Ackland-Thetford tungsten potential. Using the modified potential, the thermal expansion is calculated in a temperature range from 0 K to 3500 K, and the results are in reasonable agreement with the experimental data, thus overcoming the shortcoming of the negative thermal expansion using the Derlet-Nguyen-Manh-Dudarev tungsten potential. The present W-W potential is also applied to study in detail the diffusion of self-interstitial atoms in tungsten. It is revealed that the initial self-interstitial atom initiates a sequence of W atom displacements and replacements in the 111 direction. An Arrhenius fit to the diffusion data at temperatures below 550 K indicates a migration energy of 0.022 eV, in reasonable agreement with the experimental data.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.