Abstract
When a material is irradiated with energetic neutrons or charged particles, a complex sequence of reactions takes place. Structure, composition, and properties are altered over an extremely wide scale, spanning atomic defects, meso-scale microstructures and macroscopic properties. Particularly interesting are radiation-induced dimensional changes. Such changes, which can occur in engineered components of fission and fusion reactors on a scale of meters, are driven by lattice defects at the subnanometer level. Because of their technological importance and their high scientific challenge, the dimensional changes termed radiation-induced swelling and creep have elicited sustained intensive research by basic and applied materials scientists for many years. The present paper is intended as a brief tutorial on salient features of this work. The presentation is divided into three parts. Background is first sketched emphasizing experimentally observed features and applications. Next, the theoretical framework and specific models that have been developed to understand radiation-induced swelling and creep in isotropic materials are described. Lastly, selected experiments designed and/or interpreted in terms of theory are highlighted to illustrate the current state of understanding of the physical bases of these phenomena.
Published Version
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