Abstract
Molecular dynamics simulation method is used to investigate defect production by displacement cascades in iron with carbon (C) in solution. This is the first study of cascade damage in a metal containing interstitial solute. Iron is of particular interest because of the use of ferritic steels in plant for nuclear power generation. Cascades are simulated with energy in the range 5-20 keV in iron at either 100 or 600 K containing carbon with concentration in the range 0-1 at.%. C in solution has no discernible effect on the number of defects produced in cascades under any of the conditions simulated, nor on the clustered fraction of either self-interstitial atoms (SIAs) or vacancies. However, significant fractions of single SIAs and vacancies are trapped by C in the cascade process, irrespective of cascade energy. The fraction is independent of temperature for vacancies, but increases strongly with temperature for SIAs: this is a consequence of the higher mobility of the SIA.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 91-95 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Journal of Nuclear Materials |
| Volume | 382 |
| Issue number | 2-3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 1 2008 |
Funding
The research was supported by grant GR/S81162/01 from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council; Grant F160-CT-2003-508840 (‘PERFECT’) under programme EURATOM FP-6 of the European Commission; and partly by the Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering and the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, US Department of Energy, under Contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with UT-Battelle, LLC.