Cluster dynamics models of irradiation damage accumulation in ferritic iron. I. Trap mediated interstitial cluster diffusion

Abstract

The microstructure that develops under low temperature irradiation in ferritic alloys is dominated by a high density of small (2–5 nm) defects. These defects have been widely observed to move via occasional discrete hops during in situ thin film irradiation experiments. Cluster dynamics models are used to describe the formation of these defects as an aggregation process of smaller clusters created as primary damage. Multiple assumptions regarding the mobility of these damage features are tested in the models, both with and without explicit consideration of such irradiation induced hops. Comparison with experimental data regarding the density of these defects demonstrates the importance of including such motions in a valid model. In particular, discrete hops inform the limited dependence of defect density on irradiation temperature observed in experiments, which the model was otherwise incapable of producing.