A Model for Dose Dependence of the Void Swelling in Electron-Irradiated Alloys

Abstract

Understanding the void swelling dependence on irradiation dose for structural materials is critical for the design and operation of advanced nuclear reactors. Due to their easy accessibility in high-voltage transmission electron microscopes, electron beams have been frequently employed to investigate the void swelling mechanisms. Here, we build a general model to describe the radiation-induced swelling produced by energetic electrons. Based on this model, we develop a quantitative relation between void swelling and irradiation dose, which is in good agreement with experimental data. By extrapolating to high-dose swelling in electron-irradiated alloys, our model validation is consistent with available experiments. Furthermore, the model is well supported by our phase-field simulations.

Effect of Damage Rate on the Cavity Swelling of Pure Nickel Irradiated with Triple Ion Beams

“…The denser cascades would enhance the recombination and annihilation of point defects, reducing the steady-state vacancy concentration (Cv) and the density of the aggregation-vacancy clusters (the recombination-dominant case considered herein annealed pure nickel) [30]. The smaller C v at a higher dose rate would directly reduce the cavity growth rate, according to the rate theory for cavity growth [10,31]. Meanwhile, the vacancy clusters acted as the original cavity nucleation sites, such that the cavity nucleation process weakened with the increasing dose rate.…”