Abstract
The number of point defects formed in spherical cementite and Cr23C6 inclusions embedded into ferrite (α-iron) has been studied and compared against cascades in pure versions of these materials (only ferrite, Fe3C, or Cr23C6 in a cell). Recoil energies between 100 eV and 3 keV and temperatures between 400 K and 1000 K were used. The overall tendency is that the number of point defects — such as antisites, vacancy and interstitials — increases with recoil energy and temperature. The radial distributions of defects indicate that the interface between inclusions and the host tend to amplify and restrict the defect formation to the inclusions themselves, when compared to cascades in pure ferrite and pure carbide cells.
Highlights
Ferritic-martensitic (FM) stainless steels can be modelled as iron alloys with the principal alloying elements carbon and chromium
The number of point defects formed in spherical cementite and Cr23C6 inclusions embedded into ferrite (α-iron) has been studied and compared against cascades in pure versions of these materials
Molecular dynamics simulations of bulk cascades have been carried out for ferrite cells containing Fe3C and Cr23C6 inclusions, as well as cells consisting of pure ferrite, pure cementite (Fe3C), pure Cr23C6, as a function of recoil energy and temperature
Summary
Ferritic-martensitic (FM) stainless steels can be modelled as iron alloys with the principal alloying elements carbon and chromium. If the iron is ferritic, i.e. is in the α-phase, the main pure carbides occurring are cementite (Fe3C) and Cr23C6 (see e.g. Ref. 1). For a given atomic configuration and recoil energy the number of point defects may depend on the ambient temperature and other thermodynamic variables such as pressure. In this study the effect of initial recoil energy and temperature on the defect production in model ferritic stainless steels containing carbides is investigated. The material consists of ferrite (α-iron) into which spherical carbides cementite (Fe3C) and Cr23C6 have been embedded. Cascades have been investigated in cells containing only pure versions of the materials, i.e. ferrite, Fe3C and Cr23C6 without any inclusions or other modifications
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