Nanostructure evolution under irradiation in FeMnNi alloys: A “grey alloy” object kinetic Monte Carlo model

Abstract

This work extends the object kinetic Monte Carlo model for neutron irradiation-induced nanostructure evolution in Fe–C binary alloys developed in [1], introducing the effects of substitutional solutes like Mn and Ni. The objective is to develop a model able to describe the nanostructural evolution of both vacancy and self-interstitial atom (SIA) defect cluster populations in Fe(C)MnNi neutron-irradiated model alloys at the operational temperature of light water reactors (∼300°C), by simulating specific reference irradiation experiments. To do this, the effects of the substitutional solutes of interest are introduced, under simplifying assumptions, using a “grey alloy” scheme. Mn and Ni solute atoms are not explicitly introduced in the model, which therefore cannot describe their redistribution under irradiation, but their effect is introduced by modifying the parameters that govern the mobility of both SIA and vacancy clusters. In particular, the reduction of the mobility of point-defect clusters as a consequence of the presence of solutes proved to be key to explain the experimentally observed disappearance of detectable defect clusters with increasing solute content. Solute concentration is explicitly taken into account in the model as a variable determining the slowing down of self-interstitial clusters; small vacancy clusters, on the other hand, are assumed to be significantly slowed down by the presence of solutes, while for clusters bigger than 10 vacancies their complete immobility is postulated. The model, which is fully based on physical considerations and only uses a few parameters for calibration, is found to be capable of reproducing the experimental trends in terms of density and size distribution of the irradiation-induced defect populations with dose, as compared to the reference experiment, thereby providing insight into the physical mechanisms that influence the nanostructural evolution undergone by this material during irradiation.