Diffusion of point defects, nucleation of dislocation loops, and effect of hydrogen in hcp-Zr: Ab initio and classical simulations

Diffusion of point defects, nucleation of dislocation loops, and the associated dimensional changes of pure and H-loaded hcp-Zr have been investigated by a combination of ab initio calculations and classical simulations. Vacancy diffusion is computed to be anisotropic with D_vac,basal = 8.6 × 10^-6 e^-Q/(RT) (m²/s) and D_vac,axial = 9.9 × 10^-6 e^-Q/(RT) (m²/s), Q = 69 and 72 kJ/mol for basal and axial diffusion, respectively. At 550 K vacancy diffusion is about twice as fast in the basal plane as in a direction parallel to the c-axis. Diffusion of self-interstitials is found to be considerably faster and anisotropic involving collective atomic motions. At 550 K diffusion occurs predominantly in the a-directions, but this anisotropy diminishes with increasing temperature. Furthermore, the diffusion anisotropy is very dependent on the local strain (c/a ratio). Interstitial H atoms are found to diffuse isotropically with D_H = 1.1 × 10^-7 e^-42/(RT) (m²/s). These results are consistent with experimental data and other theoretical studies. Molecular dynamics simulations at 550 K with periodic injection of vacancies and self-interstitial atoms reveal the formation of small nanoclusters, which are sufficient to cause a net expansion of the lattice in the a-directions driven by clusters of self-interstitials and a smaller contraction in the c-direction involving nanoclusters of vacancies. This is consistent with and can explain experimental data of irradiation growth. Energy minimizations show that vacancy c-loops can collapse into stacking-fault pyramids and, somewhat unexpectedly, this is associated with a contraction in the a-directions. This collapse can be impeded by hydrogen atoms. Interstitial hydrogen atoms have no marked influence on self-interstitial diffusion and aggregation. These simulations use a new Zr-H embedded atom potential, which is based on ab initio energies.