Molecular dynamics study of interactions between edge dislocation and irradiation-induced defects in Fe–10Ni–20Cr alloy

Abstract

Irradiation-induced defects frequently impede the slip of dislocations, resulting in a sharp decline in the performance of nuclear reactor structural materials, particularly core structural materials. In the present work, molecular dynamics method is used to investigate the interactions between edge dislocations and three typical irradiation-induced defects (void, Frank loop, and stacking fault tetrahedron) with the sizes of 3 nm, 5 nm, and 7 nm at different temperatures in Fe–10Ni–20Cr alloy. The critical resolved shear stresses (CRSSs) are compared among different defect types after interacting with edge dislocations. The results show that the CRSS decreases with temperature increasing and defect size decreasing for each defect type during the interaction with edge dislocations, except for the case of 3-nm Frank loops at 900 K. According to a comparison, the CRSS in Frank loop is significantly higher than that of others of the same size, which is due to the occurrence of unfaulting and formation of superjog or stacking-fault complex during the interaction. The atomic evolution of irradiation-induced defects after interacting with dislocations can provide a novel insight into the design of new structural materials.