Dislocation-enhanced experimental-scale vacancy loop formation in hcp Zirconium in one single collision cascade.

ABSTRACT: Large defects are the main factor leading to the degradation of material properties under irradiation environments. It is commonly assumed that the large defects are mainly formed through cluster growth under continuous irradiations. Besides this mechanism, recent experiments and simulations show that sometimes an individual ion can also directly create a large defect. Here we report a novel mechanism for the formation of the large defects, as discovered by our Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations of the collision cascades in hcp Zirconium (Zr): a pre-existing edge dislocation (ED) can significantly promote the nucleation of the vacancy clusters, and even facilitate the direct formation of an experimental-scale large vacancy loop (about 3 nm) in only one single displacement cascade. This di

SUBMITTER: Zhou W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4751535 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature