Atomic-scale mechanisms of void hardening in bcc and fcc metals

Strengthening due to voids can be a significant effect of radiation damage in metals, but treatment of this by elasticity theory of dislocations is difficult when the mechanisms controlling the obstacle strength are atomic in nature. Results are reported of atomic-scale modelling to compare edge dislocation-void interaction in fcc copper and bcc iron. Voids of up to 6 nm diameter in iron and 8 nm diameter in copper were studied over the temperature range 0 to 600 K at different applied strain rates. Voids in iron are strong obstacles, for the dislocation has to adopt a dipole-like configuration at the void before breaking away. The dipole unzips at the critical stress when the dislocation is able to climb by absorbing vacancies and leave the void surface. Dislocation dissociation into Shockley partials in copper prevents dislocation climb and affects the strength of small and large voids differently. Small voids are much weaker obstacles than those in iron because the partials break from a void individually. Large voids are at least as strong as those in iron, but the controlling mechanism depends on temperature.