Abstract
Engineering-scale models of the effects of radiation on the mechanical properties of materials can be modelled by considering relevant physical processes at the microstructural level.
The initial displacement of atoms by quanta of radiation and the subsequent formation of damage cascades are treated by direct simulation (molecular dynamics) and by a statistical model. The interaction between damage cascades may be significant at high dose rates; this is being investigated by simulation and is included in the macroscopic model.
The mobility and interactions of vacancies and interstitial atoms (including helium from alpha decay) are estimated by simulation and by a hierarchy of simplified models. Sample calculations are shown of the growth of micro-voids and dislocation loops and the migration of helium in a face-centred cubic metal.
The microstructure, evolving under the influence of radiation, can be related to macroscopic mechanical properties such as plasticity. Thermal and disordering effects such as recrystallisation and localised melt are introduced here.
The methods developed are demonstrated by application to an idealised model of a-decay in plutonium.
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© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Swift, D.C. (2001). A Model of the Effects of Radiation on the Microstructure of Metals. In: Mallinson, L.G. (eds) Ageing Studies and Lifetime Extension of Materials. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1215-8_41
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1215-8_41
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5444-4
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